First venous stent implanted in the brain in Serbia: Patient suffering from chronic headaches is recovering

The procedure was led by interventional neuroradiologist Dr. Ivan Vukašinović, who said that the patient is doing well and that the symptoms have already started to improve.

The patient who became the first person in Serbia to receive a venous stent in the brain is successfully recovering after the procedure, Dr. Ivan Vukašinović said.

"The patient is doing well. He has left the hospital and is now already on vacation, so both we and the patient are satisfied," Dr. Vukašinović said.

According to him, the headaches have already decreased, and it is expected that their intensity will continue to decline over time.

"They have decreased, and they will continue to improve over time because this is a chronic condition. We expect the headaches to completely stop in the coming period," Dr. Vukašinović said.

Dr. Vukašinović explained that this is a minimally invasive procedure performed through blood vessels, without opening the skull, RTS reported.

"We widened the sinus that was narrowed. In this patient, one sinus was completely blocked, while the other was narrowed to such an extent that the pressures in the brain, which we measured before and after the narrowing, were very different," Dr. Vukašinović said.

After the stent was placed, the pressure levels were equalized, allowing easier flow of cerebrospinal fluid through the venous sinuses and reducing intracranial pressure.

According to him, such patients can experience not only severe headaches but also vision impairment due to papilledema, as well as ringing in the ears.

"We managed to reduce intracranial pressure. In this patient, papilledema was already reduced immediately after the procedure, which is an indirect indication that the headaches will also improve over time," Dr. Vukašinović emphasized.

New candidates for the procedure already identified

Dr. Vukašinović said that this is a rare condition, but that several patients have already been identified as potential candidates for the procedure.

"In cooperation with colleagues from the Neurology Clinic, we already have four to five patients who could be candidates for this intervention, which we plan to perform as soon as possible," he said.

He added that such procedures require an experienced and well-coordinated team, as well as specialized venous stents.

"A team that has been trained for years is required. We are all a coordinated team. On the other hand, there are now stents specifically designed for this type of pathology, which has made both the procedure itself and patient treatment easier," Dr. Vukašinović said.

Speaking about international cooperation, he emphasized that during the first procedure, significant support was provided by a colleague from the Netherlands through telemedicine, and that the cooperation continued afterward.

Patients suspected of being potential candidates for this type of treatment, according to Dr. Vukašinović, are referred to the Neurology Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Serbia, where further diagnostics and assessment are carried out.