Direct surgical treatment of giant intracranial aneurysms

1979 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 743-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshio Hosobuchi

✓ The author has operated on 40 patients with giant intracranial aneurysms, using various surgical approaches. Giant aneurysms predominated in females (3:1) and were most common in the age group 30 to 60 years. Patients presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (17), visual disturbance (18), chronic headache (14), transient or progressive hemispheric deficit (6), seizure (2), dementia (2), and cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea (1). Giant aneurysms were located at the carotid artery (25), the basovertebral artery (8), the anterior communicating artery (5), and the middle cerebral artery (2). Eight of 40 patients had one or more other aneurysms and/or associated arteriovenous malformations. Aneurysms were treated with intramural thrombosis (21), neck occlusion (7), trapping (10), proximal parent artery ligation (1), and aneurysmorrhaphy (1). After as much as 8 years of follow-up, 32 patients (80%) showed complete or marked improvement in signs and symptoms; two patients (5%) had a poor recovery. There were six surgical mortalities (15%). Giant aneurysms can be treated with respectable results if the surgeon selects the technique best suited to the particular aneurysm. In general, neck occlusion, trapping, and aneurysmorrhaphy are best for giant aneurysms of the anterior circulation, and intramural thrombosis is best for those of the posterior circulation. Extra- and intracranial vascular anastomotic techniques are also of value. For success, a flexible approach is essential.

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vini G. Khurana ◽  
David G. Piepgras ◽  
Jack P. Whisnant

Object. The present study was conducted to estimate the frequency and timing of rebleeding after initial subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from ruptured giant aneurysms. Methods. The authors reviewed records of 109 patients who suffered an initial SAH from a giant aneurysm and were treated at the Mayo Clinic between 1973 and 1996. They represented 25% of patients with giant intracranial aneurysms seen at this institution during that 23-year period. Seven of the patients were residents of Rochester, Minnesota, and the rest were referred from other institutions. The aneurysms ranged from 25 to 60 mm in diameter, and 74% were located on arteries of the anterior intracranial circulation. The cumulative frequency of rebleeding at 14 days after admission was 18.4%. Cerebrospinal fluid drainage, cerebral angiography, and delayed aneurysm recurrence were implicated in rebleeding in some of the patients. Rebleeding was not precluded by intraaneurysm thrombosis. Among those who suffered recurrent SAH at the Mayo Clinic, 33% died in the hospital. Conclusions. Rebleeding from giant aneurysms occurs at a rate comparable to that associated with smaller aneurysms, a finding that should be considered in management strategies.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 430-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Piepgras ◽  
Vini G. Khurana ◽  
Jack P. Whisnant

Object. This retrospective study was made to determine the relationship between surgical timing and outcome in all patients with ruptured giant intracranial aneurysms undergoing surgical treatment at the Mayo Clinic between 1973 and 1996. Methods. The authors studied 109 patients, 102 of whom were referred from other medical centers. The ruptured giant aneurysms were 25 to 60 mm in diameter. One hundred five of the patients survived the rupturing of the aneurysm to undergo operation, with direct surgery possible in 84% of cases. Excluding delayed referrals, the average time to surgery after admission to the Mayo Clinic was approximately 4 to 5 days. Patients admitted earlier tended to be in poorer condition, often undergoing earlier operation. On average, surgical treatment was administered later for patients with ruptured aneurysms of the posterior circulation than for those with aneurysms in the anterior circulation. Temporary occlusion of the parent vessel was necessary in 67% of direct procedures, with an average occlusion time of 15 minutes. Among surgically treated patients, a favorable outcome was achieved in 72% harboring ruptured anterior circulation aneurysms and in 78% with ruptured posterior circulation lesions. Conclusions. The overall management mortality rate was 21.1%, and the mortality rate for surgical management was 8.6%. The authors believe that because of the technical difficulties and risk of rebleeding associated with ruptured giant intracranial aneurysms, timely referral to and well-planned treatment at medical centers specializing in management of these lesions are essential to effect a more favorable outcome.


1992 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waro Taki ◽  
Shogo Nishi ◽  
Kohsuke Yamashita ◽  
Akiyo Sadatoh ◽  
Ichiro Nakahara ◽  
...  

✓ Between April, 1989, and January, 1991, a total of 19 cases of giant aneurysm were treated by the endovascular approach. The patients included seven males and 12 females aged 15 to 72 years. Detachable balloons, occlusion coils, and ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer liquid were used as embolic materials. In seven cases, thrombosis of the aneurysmal sac and/or base was achieved while sparing the parent arterial flow; complete obliteration of the aneurysm was achieved in four of these. Of these four patients, the thrombotic material was a detachable balloon in two, a combination of a detachable balloon and coils in one, and occlusion liquid in one. In the other three cases, complete occlusion was not achieved; one aneurysm was occluded with a detachable balloon and two with coils. In 11 patients, the parent artery was occluded either by trapping or by proximal arterial occlusion, and all patients showed complete occlusion of the aneurysms. In one patient, a combined bypass procedure and parent artery occlusion was performed. Among the 19 cases in this series there were four transient ischemic attacks, one reversible ischemic neurological deficit, and one death due to aneurysmal rupture during the procedure. Two patients died in the follow-up period, one from pneumonia 2 months postoperatively and the other from acute cardiac failure 2 weeks following surgery. Both deaths were unrelated to the endovascular procedure. It is concluded that the endovascular treatment of giant aneurysms remains difficult because of the large and irregular shape of the aneurysmal base and thrombus in the aneurysmal sac. The proper selection and combination of the available endovascular techniques is therefore of critical importance.


1992 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Nathal ◽  
Nobuyuki Yasui ◽  
Takeshi Sampei ◽  
Akifumi Suzuki

✓ The intraoperative anatomical findings of the anterior communicating artery (ACoA) complex in 46 patients with anatomical variations were compared to those in an equal number of patients without variations in order to determine the visualization of the elements of the vascular complex. All patients underwent radical surgery for an ACoA aneurysm by one of three different surgical approaches: transsylvian, anterior interhemispheric, or basal interhemispheric. Visualization of the vascular elements was similar in patients with or without anatomical variations. The differences observed were dependent on the surgical approach selected and on the projection of the aneurysm. It was found that, even when the intraoperative anatomical field and the number of vascular elements visualized are different from those obtained in autopsy studies, the vascular microanatomical characteristics can be confirmed with each surgical approach to the extent necessary to ensure safe clipping of aneurysms in patients both with and without anatomical variations.


1992 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 880-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiko Kyoshima ◽  
Shigeaki Kobayashi ◽  
Kenji Wakui ◽  
Yoshiki Ichinose ◽  
Hiroshi Okudera

✓ A newly designed puncture needle for aspirating large or giant aneurysms is described. This puncture needle represents a modification of an intravenous catheter with an internal needle. It is designed to prevent blood from leaking when the internal needle is removed and has a lateral tube for aspiration. Following aneurysm puncture with the parent artery temporarily trapped, the catheter is positioned on the head frame with a brain spatula and a self-retaining retractor. Blood is suctioned through the lateral tube with a syringe or the suction system normally used in the operating room.


1989 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 512-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall T. Higashida ◽  
Van V. Halbach ◽  
Leslie D. Cahan ◽  
Grant B. Hieshima ◽  
Yoshifumi Konishi

✓ Treatment of complex and surgically difficult intracranial aneurysms of the posterior circulation is now being performed with intravascular detachable balloon embolization techniques. The procedure is carried out under local anesthesia from a transfemoral arterial approach, which allows continuous neurological monitoring. Under fluoroscopic guidance, the balloon is propelled by blood flow through the intracranial circulation and, in most cases, can be guided directly into the aneurysm, thus preserving the parent vessel. If an aneurysm neck is not present, test occlusion of the parent vessel is performed and, if tolerated, the balloon is detached. Twenty-six aneurysms in 25 patients have been treated by this technique. The aneurysms have involved the distal vertebral artery (five cases), the mid-basilar artery (six cases), the distal basilar artery (11 cases), and the posterior cerebral artery (four cases). The aneurysms varied in size and included three small (< 12 mm), 15 large (12 to 25 mm), and eight giant (> 25 mm). Fifteen patients (60%) presented with hemorrhage and 10 patients (40%) with mass effect. In 17 cases (65%) direct balloon embolization of the aneurysm was achieved with preservation of the parent artery. In nine cases (35%), because of aneurysm location and size, occlusion of the parent vessel was performed. Complications from therapy included three cases of transient cerebral ischemia which resolved, three cases of stroke, and five deaths due to immediate or delayed aneurysm rupture. The follow-up period has ranged from 2 months to 43 months (mean 22.5 months). In cases where posterior circulation aneurysms have been difficult to treat by conventional neurosurgical techniques, intravascular detachable balloon embolization may offer an alternative therapeutic option.


1989 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. D. Atkinson ◽  
Thoralf M. Sundt ◽  
O. Wayne Houser ◽  
Jack P. Whisnant

✓ A retrospective angiographic analysis was designed to extrapolate the frequency of angiographically defined asymptomatic intracranial aneurysms in the anterior circulation from a relatively unbiased clinical series. A total of 9295 angiograms were reviewed from January, 1980, to January, 1987, and, based on these, 278 patients with minimal bias for the presence of an aneurysm were selected. Three patients were found to have incidental aneurysms; thus, the angiographic frequency of patients with asymptomatic aneurysms in this series was 1%. This patient population is skewed toward the older age groups and probably over-represents the incidence of these aneurysms in the population at large. Comparing current subarachnoid hemorrhage statistics and the low frequency of asymptomatic aneurysms suggests that a larger percentage of these aneurysms than was previously thought subsequently rupture. This study contrasts sharply with previous reports quoting a high incidence of aneurysms, and significantly alters the concept and treatment of this disease.


1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles G. Drake ◽  
Sydney J. Peerless

✓ The paucity of information about giant fusiform intracranial aneurysms prompted this review of 120 surgically treated patients. Twenty-five aneurysms were located in the anterior and 95 in the posterior circulation. Six patients suffered from atherosclerosis and only three others had a known arteriopathy. The remaining 111 patients presented with aneurysms resulting from an unknown arterial disorder; these patients were much younger than those harboring atherosclerotic aneurysms. Mass effect occurred in only 50% of cases and hemorrhage in 20%. Eight aneurysms caused transient ischemic attacks. Hunterian proximal occlusion or trapping were dominant among the treatment methods. In contrast to the management of giant saccular aneurysms, the usual thrombotic occlusion of a giant fusiform aneurysm after proximal parent artery occlusion requires the presence of two collateral circulations to prevent infarction, one for the end vessels and another for the perforating vessels that arise from the aneurysm. Although there was some reliance on the circle of Willis and on collateral vessels manufactured at surgery, the extent of natural leptomeningeal and perforating collateral, thalamic, lenticulostriate, and brainstem vessels was astonishing and formerly unknown to the authors. Good outcome occurred in 76% of patients with aneurysms in the anterior circulation; two of the six cases with poor results included patients who were already hemiplegic. Ninety percent of patients with posterior cerebral aneurysms fared well. Only 67% of patients with basilar or vertebral aneurysms had good outcomes, although more (17%) of these patients were in poor condition preoperatively because of brainstem compression.


1990 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 864-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjeld Dons Eriksen ◽  
Torben Bøge-Rasmussen ◽  
Christian Kruse-Larsen

✓ Damage to the olfactory nerve during frontotemporal approach to the basal cisternal region has not previously been investigated in a quantified manner. In this retrospective study of 25 patients operated on for ruptured intracranial aneurysms via the frontotemporal route, 22 patients suffered postoperatively from anosmia ipsilateral to the side of surgery. This complication most often goes unrecognized by the patient as well as the physician, and attention should be drawn to it because of its widespread occurrence. This investigation demonstrates a high incidence of anosmia (24 (88.9%) of 27 surgical sides) occurring ipsilateral to the frontotemporal approach in aneurysm surgery. Recovery after traumatic anosmia has been recorded up to 5 years after injury.1 Nevertheless, the authors believe that the damage is permanent when lasting 35 months or longer.


1982 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garnette R. Sutherland ◽  
Martin E. King ◽  
S. J. Peerless ◽  
William C. Vezina ◽  
G. William Brown ◽  
...  

✓ Turbulence within intracranial aneurysms may result in tearing of the aneurysmal wall, exposing the subendothelial matrix to circulating platelets. In this study, platelet interaction in giant intracranial aneurysms was evaluated by a dual-isotope technique employing 111In-labeled platelets and 99mTc-labeled red blood cells. The use of two isotopes allows the subtraction of the blood pool and the calculation of the ratio indium deposited:indium blood pool (In(D)/In(BP)). A ratio greater than zero indicates platelet deposition within the aneurysm. Thirteen patients were evaluated in this way, with platelet deposition demonstrated in six. In these six patients, the ratio In(D)/In(BP) was found to be significantly elevated, with a mean value of 0.96 ± 0.65. Three of these six patients had symptoms of recurrent transient neurological deficits; one of these three suffered a complete stroke following documentation of platelet deposition. In this case, the aneurysm was obtained at surgery and was found to contain intraluminal platelet aggregation when viewed by scanning electron microscopy. In the remaining seven patients, the ratio In(D)/In(BP) was found not to be significantly elevated (mean −0.03 ± 0.06), indicating the absence of active platelet deposition. Two of these patients had prior symptoms of cerebral ischemia; one of these was found to have an ulcer in the ipsilateral internal carotid artery which was probably responsible for thromboembolic events to the hemisphere. The authors conclude that platelet aggregation occurs more frequently than previously recognized in giant intracranial aneurysms, and their data substantiate the hypothesis that platelet metabolic products or thrombi originating from a large aneurysm may embolize to distal cerebral vessels.


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