What is a brain arteriography?
Brain angiography is a minimum invase method that is carried out
in a hemodinamicroom, low emission of rays "X", and under
fluoroscopic control (controlled continuous radiation). Intra
arterial contrast agent is used in this study.
The study consists on placing the patient in position of dorsal
decubitus (face up) in a table. During the study, the patient is
awake and with asepsis and antisepsis in the workspace (leg or arm).
An arterial puncture is performed in the work area afterwhich is
placed an artery sheet introducer that serves as via of entrance to
the arterial system.
In the first place it is introduced a diagnostic catheter and a
guide wire, the doctar navigates through the arterial system
ascending against flow until locating the aortic arch (birth of the
arteries of the neck that go toward the brain). In this study is
important to canalize and explore using contrast agent the four main
arteries that go toward the brain (in study order):
- Right vertebral artery
- Right internal carotid artery
- Left internal carotid artery
- Left vertebral artery
In some cases, and depending of the illness that motivated the study, is important to carry out the canalization and exploration of the arteries that go towards face and some cervical arteries that irrigate structures in the neck:
- Right carotid external artery
- Left carotid external artery
- Right cervical rammus
- Left cervical rammus
It is very important to understand that the study is carried out alone for diagnostic purposes and not therapeutic ends. With that understood, the study itself will not modify the evolution of the illness that motivated the study. Once finished the study, and in case of pathology is demonstrated, a therapeutic plan can be scheduled which can be medical, surgical or endovascular.
The objectives and benefits of a brain angiography are: to study in objective way cervical , facial or brain pathologies of tumoral or vessels type, to know in a detailed way their composition, and this way take an adequate therapeutic decition.