Brain bypass Surgery
cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery
Typically a direct “brain” bypass is done for a patient with Moyamoya disease. This is usually performed in patient above the age of 10 years as the blood vessels are of good calibre to perform the bypass. Other indications for bypass include severe extracranial or intracranial atherosclerotic blood vessel disease, bypass performed as part treatment for tumours or blood vessel aneurysms at the skull base
Schematic representation of a direct brain bypass procedure
Actual images of a direct brain bypass surgery.STA-MCA bypass final picture
Angiogram at 6 months follow-up showing good blood supply to the brain from the bypass
Indirect bypass is done in patients with blood vessels which are too small to perform a direct bypass and also in patients who have failed a previous direct bypass. In this case, the superficial temporal artery and scalp muscle is placed over the brain to develop connections over a period of 6 months.