The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) has been a breakthrough technology in the treatment of wide-neck brain aneurysms. The mesh device, about the size of a pencil eraser, blocks blood from flowing into the aneurysm while allowing for normal blood flow through the arteries. It is minimally invasive and allows for a short recovery time.
Since the WEB mesh sits inside the aneurysm, blood thinners are not required. That makes the procedure an option for those who might have high blood pressure, stomach ulcers or any other conditions that make it risky for them to take blood thinners.
David J. Altschul, MD, Director of Neurovascular Surgery, Co-Director, Montefiore Comprehensive Center for Stroke Care, Montefiore Einstein, has been using WEB since it was first approved by the FDA in 2018. He is now the second-most experienced WEB user in the entire country, putting Montefiore Einstein on the forefront of this medical innovation.
“It takes a little time for the aneurysm to go away, because the blood needs to coagulate and then it starts to heal,” Dr. David Altschul said. “We typically wait about six months and then check to make sure the aneurysm is completely gone.”
His team recently used data collected from those treatments and follow-ups to publish a study looking at 31 patients with intracranial aneurysms who were treated with WEB at Montefiore Einstein. The study, “Impact of aneurysm diameter, angulation, and device sizing on complete occlusion rates using the woven endobridge (WEB) device: Single center United States experience,” was published in Interventional Neuroradiology and showed that larger aneurysm size and ruptured aneurysms have a higher risk of recurrence compared to smaller and unruptured aneurysms, which have higher cure rates.
