PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — About one in 50 people in the U.S. have unruptured brain aneurysms. These “ticking time bombs” can rupture if they aren’t treated.

Now, doctors are using a novel approach to clip the aneurysm so they won’t cause a problem.

Barbara O’Hara loves the beach. But there was a time when severe pain kept her from enjoying her peaceful walks.

“I had excruciating pain in my neck. I had headaches and prior to that, I had migraines,” O’Hara said.

Turns out, Barbara had an aneurysm in her brain.

“I felt afraid. I felt very afraid,” O’Hara said.

An aneurysm is essentially a weak spot in an artery. The problem is it can rupture — and become deadly.

“If an aneurysm ruptures, unfortunately, 50% of patients, they cannot even get to the hospital,” explained Mauricio Mandel, MD, neurosurgeon at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Florida.

To repair aneurysms, doctors can coil, stent, or clip them. The standard surgery to clip an aneurysm involves performing a craniotomy. Surgeons make a large incision in the head and open up the skull. Now, Dr. Mandel is performing this procedure in a minimally invasive way.

“We do an incision that is on the eyelid,” he said.

From there, the aneurysm is clipped. This stops the blood flow so it can’t rupture. The result is a much smaller scar, less tissue damage — and a quicker recovery.

Most patients return to normal life in two to four weeks compared to one to two months with traditional surgery.

“Most patients do surgery and go home next day,” Dr. Mandel told Ivanhoe.

“When I woke up, I felt like a million dollars, and I was shocked I felt so wonderful,” O’Hara said.

Now, O’Hara can enjoy her walks — pain-free.

“He saved my life, and I don’t have words for that,” O’Hara said.

Dr. Mandel says this procedure, called transorbital surgery, is only an option for specific patients that have aneurysms in certain areas of the brain. In addition to brain aneurysms, this surgical approach through the eyelid can be used to treat some brain tumors and epilepsy.

Watch the video above for the full story.