"Microscopic Surgery" Inside Blood Vessels Becomes a Reality

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition – May 29, 1999

A man in his fifties, a busy engineer working overtime, suddenly felt dizzy on his way home. He tried to speak, but no words came out, and a sharp headache struck him. As he waited for the bus in the cold, his limbs did not move as he intended, and he could no longer stand. He hailed a taxi to head home, but his condition worsened. Sensing something was seriously wrong, he redirected the taxi to an emergency hospital. By the time he arrived, he had lost consciousness.

In the emergency room (ER), he underwent treatment and a CT scan of his head, which revealed that an aneurysm was on the verge of rupture. He was immediately admitted to the neurosurgery department.

One of the remarkable advancements in neurosurgical treatment in recent years is endovascular surgery. A catheter is inserted through the femoral artery and guided through the abdominal and thoracic aorta, then through the carotid artery to reach the affected area. A metallic coil is inserted into the aneurysm to seal it off. The surgery was successfully completed. The dream of microscopic precision in medical technology is becoming a reality.

The 1966 film Fantastic Voyage depicted a science fiction scenario in which a medical team and a submarine were miniaturized, traveled through the blood vessels of the brain, repaired a bleeding lesion with a laser, and safely returned. Even when the purpose is treatment, anything entering the body from the outside is perceived as a foreign object. The struggle against white blood cells, which attacked them as intruders, was a striking part of the story.

In 1987, Innerspace, a parody blending Fantastic Voyage with the James Bond series, was produced with Steven Spielberg as one of the executive producers. In the film, a submarine, originally intended for an experiment inside a rabbit’s body, gets involved in a battle over miniaturization technology and ends up inside a human body, leading to a chaotic adventure.

The man with the aneurysm has since returned to work without recurrence, but he worries about another attack when he gets too busy. Concerned about his reliance on anti-anxiety and sleeping medications, he sought medical advice. No matter how revolutionary a treatment may be, neglecting preventive care increases the risk of vascular blockage or rupture in the heart and brain. Ultimately, self-management and early detection remain key to maintaining health.