With the progressive improvement in imaging studies, MRI and CAT scans, we are finding more and more ‘incidental’ abnormalities, and there is now a question of ‘what to do’ with such findings.
Some might think that such incidental findings are good fortune to find by accident, so that we can treat the findings and prevent future issues, but as a recent study showed on intervening with a specific type of aneurysm of the brain found on scanning, patients who received such treatment had complications from treatment that suggest these aneurysms are better ‘left alone’.
Of course, treatment in these instances is individualized based on the patient’s situation, but it’s important to understand the limits of our preventive strategies and to keep a cool head, managing such problems in an expectant manner, watching-and-waiting, rather than intervening.