Risks of surgery on unruptured brain aneurysms can outweigh benefits

Unruptured intracranial aneurysms may be best left untreated as in some instances the risks of surgery outweigh the benefits, an international group of researchers has concluded. Their findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1998;339:1725-33), raise difficult questions about how doctors should tackle this common condition, found in about 5% of …