Neurosurgeons in Lviv saved a seven-month-old girl with a rare brain blood vessel aneurysm.

Neurosurgeons from the St. Nicholas Hospital in Lviv, in collaboration with a renowned neurosurgeon of Ukrainian descent from Hungary, successfully operated on a seven-month-old girl named Solomiya Odeychuk from Rivne region, who was born with a rare brain vessel aneurysm. The aneurysm could have ruptured at any moment, causing a hemorrhage and the child's death, but the doctors managed to prevent this.

This condition, known as Galen vein aneurysm, occurs in one out of every 25,000 newborns. It was detected when the woman was 32 weeks pregnant. Among all possible anomalies of the brain vessels, this one is the most complex. A pathological connection forms in the brain between the arteries and the Galen vein. As a result, blood flows to the latter too quickly and intensely—under pressure—which leads to pathological dilation of the vessel. A so-called "bubble" forms within it, which doctors refer to as a "bomb" because it could rupture at any moment, causing a hemorrhage and death. This defect also leads to a number of other dangerous cardiovascular diseases, the hospital states.

“After the examination, the doctor called in his colleague and brought me a thick medical encyclopedia that discussed this diagnosis. He said that the disease is so rare that he had only encountered it when he was studying at university,” says the girl's mother.

Due to the high risks, the Rivne medics referred the pregnant woman to Kyiv. There, Solomiya was born. For the newborn's rescue, the family was then directed to Lviv neurosurgeons.

“Children with this diagnosis often do not survive past one year. However, there is a surgery—it's risky, but it offers a chance for survival. The parents agreed to it, and we began preparations. We waited six months for Solomiya to grow so that her body would have a better chance of withstanding the intervention,” says Taras Mykytyn, head of the neurosurgery department.

The well-known neurosurgeon of Ukrainian descent from Hungary, Stepan Hudak, assisted the Lviv neurosurgeons in performing this operation. Throughout his career, he has traveled around the world and saved the lives of over fifty children with Galen vein aneurysm.

At the time of the operation, Solomiya was already seven months old. The diameter of the aneurysm was five times larger than the vein itself. The neurosurgeons performed the intervention minimally invasively, through a small incision on her leg. They closed the aneurysm through this incision. They blocked access from certain vessels to the vein with a special glue, which weakened the blood flow and reduced pressure. The surgery was successful, and over time, the aneurysm is expected to shrink.

Less than a week after the surgery, Solomiya went home. Now, her life is no longer in danger.