• Aneurysm

In the March 2014 issue of J Neurointerv Surg, I read an article entitled ‘A history of detachable coils: 1987–2012’,1 in which the progressive development of detachable coils over the past 25 years was described. The article was interesting and gave the reader a sense of how, starting from a basic ‘game changer’ idea,2–6 events progressed in a steady fashion over time, in an effort to offer the best possible treatment to patients harboring brain aneurysms. However, on page 1 of the article, in the paragraph entitled ‘The first coil’, there are some comments, statements, and information that need to be corrected.

1. As the inventor of the detachable coils (which is rightfully acknowledged by the authors), I was the first to test them.3 ,4 As such, I can state that the title of the article is incorrect and, for the sake of historical accuracy, should be changed to ‘A history of detachable coils: 1989–2012’. In other words, the ‘beginnings’ occurred in 1989 (not in …