I am an active 66 year old male and have a dilemma in that I need knee replacement surgery but recently found that I have an 11mm wide necked saccular aneurysm in my left carotid artery (during a routine MRI). An eminent Australian neuro-surgeon has recommended that I have coiling of the aneurysm and stenting to hold the coil in place, to deal with this. He also indicated that I should hold off on knee replacement for about 6 months until the aneurysm is fixed (I will have to come of aspirin for a short time prior to knee surgery and he is OK with that).
I am not sure whether to proceed with the knee replacement prior to fixing the aneurysm or not given the risks of fixing the aneurysm and that knee surgery may put strain on the unfixed aneurysm. I am also not sure how much longer I should delay fixing the aneurysm, given its size. I would welcome your advice on this. Thanks
I agree with your doctor because dealing with an aneurysm is more important and is an urgent condition than a knee replacement. The main treatment option for the aneurysm is surgical repair but you may consider a newer procedure called an endovascular, or stent-graft, repair.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.