Woman Survives Ruptured Brain Aneurysm After Being Life Flighted for Emergency Surgery

Family, fun and fitness are three of the most important things in Kim Oplinger’s life.

The 52-year-old from Silver Lake, Ohio loves gathering family together for fun things like cookouts and boating. And, she truly enjoys working out daily.

Kim and her husband, Mike, were 17- and 19-years-old, respectively, when they began dating. That same year, they started their own business. Over the years, the business has grown and both work together, hand in hand.

On November 30, 2021, Kim woke up at 5:00 a.m. and went to work out in her home gym. “That morning I felt off. I was really tired, which was abnormal for me, so I went back to bed for a few hours before I went to work,” recalls Kim.

At work, Kim, Mike and their general manager, Bob, were on a video call. Right after the call ended Kim said, “My head feels weird,” and collapsed in a chair.

Bob called 911 while Mike started CPR. When the paramedics arrived they immediately transported Kim to Cleveland Clinic Akron General’s Emergency Department. Tests showed that Kim had a ruptured brain aneurysm.

A brain aneurysm is a bulge in a weak area of an artery in or around the brain. The constant pressure of blood flow pushes the weakened section outward, creating a blister-like bump.

When blood rushes into this bulge, the aneurysm stretches even farther. It’s similar to how a balloon gets thinner and is more likely to pop as it fills with air. If it pops, or ruptures, it can be life threatening.

Brain aneurysms can be hereditary and in Kim’s case it was. Her father had one in 2019 that was caught before it ruptured and treated at Cleveland Clinic; his brother died of one.

Kim also has polycystic kidney disease which put her at higher risk of having an aneurysm.

Kim was life flighted to Cleveland Clinic for emergency surgery. Before she left, a hole was drilled in her skull to relieve the pressure in her brain from the aneurysm.

“Kim’s medical issue was pretty dramatic. When an aneurysm ruptures, the pressure in the head goes sky high, it’s basically equal to a bomb going off in the head,” explains Mark Bain, MD, a neurosurgeon at Cleveland Clinic’s Cerebrovascular Center.

Dr. Bain and his medical team had three goals before Kim had surgery: to stabilize her, to ensure the level of pressure on her brain was decreased and to focus on her aneurysm.

“We had to move quickly,” says Dr. Bain. “Kim required immediate surgery, but we first had to determine the location, anatomy and solution for the aneurysm.”

Kim needed a cerebral angiogram to provide detailed images of her blood vessels to locate the aneurysm. During this procedure, a catheter was inserted into an artery in her wrist area,  special dye was injected through the catheter to show the structure of her blood vessels and then x-rays of her blood vessels were taken.

During a four hour surgery, Dr. Bain made an incision from her temple to her ear to remove a portion of her skull to access her brain. Once he accessed the portion of her brain where the aneurysm was located, he used a metal clip to close the aneurysm. Then a titanium plate was inserted and stabilized with a screw where he removed the portion of her skull.

“It took a monster team and aggressive surgical care to achieve the amazing outcome for Kim,” says Dr. Bain.

Kim recovered from her surgery at Cleveland Clinic from Nov. 30 through Dec. 21, 2021. She was walking days after surgery and had physical therapy.

Once discharged, Kim had occupational therapy to strengthen her left eye. She also saw Dr. Bain for a post-surgical checkup.

By a random coincidence, Dr. Bain was the same surgeon who had previously treated Kim’s father.

“After my father’s initial consultation with Dr. Bain, I was so impressed with him that I always thought to myself, if I ever need anything done to my brain that I’d want him to be my surgeon. Little did I know that would actually happen one day,” recalls Kim.

Kim continues to thrive. She leads a somewhat slower paced life, but she still goes to work, works out every day and enjoys time with her family.

“Dr. Bain and his team are amazing; they took the best care of me. Without them I wouldn’t be here,” says Kim.