Detachable balloon embolization therapy of posterior circulation intracranial aneurysms

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.

1990 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 857-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall T. Higashida ◽  
Van V. Halbach ◽  
Christopher Dowd ◽  
Stanley L. Barnwell ◽  
Bill Dormandy ◽  
...  

✓ Interventional neurovascular techniques for treating patients with intracranial aneurysms are now being performed in selected cases. In certain anatomical locations that are difficult to reach surgically, such as the cavernous portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA), this technique may be especially useful. The procedure is performed from a transfemoral approach, using local anesthesia, thus permitting continuous neurological monitoring. Between 1981 and 1989, 87 patients diagnosed as having an intracavernous aneurysm were treated with endovascular detachable balloon embolization techniques. The patients ranged in age from 11 to 84 years. The presenting symptom was mass effect in 69 cases (79.3%), rupture of a preexisting aneurysm resulting in a carotid-cavernous sinus fistula in eight cases (9.2%), trauma resulting in a cavernous pseudoaneurysm in seven cases (8.0%), and hemorrhage in three cases (3.4%). Therapeutic occlusion of the ICA across or just proximal to the aneurysm neck was performed in 68 patients (78.2%). Since 1984, with the development of a permanent solidifying agent (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) to fill the balloon, it is now feasible in some cases to guide the balloon directly into the aneurysm and preserve the parent artery; this was achieved in 19 cases (22%). Follow-up examination has demonstrated complete thrombosis with partial or total alleviation of symptoms in all patients with therapeutic occlusion of the parent vessel. Of the 19 patients with preservation of the parent artery, follow-up studies have demonstrated total exclusion in 12 cases (63%) and subtotal occlusion of greater than 85% in seven cases (37%), with clinical improvement in all cases. Complications from therapy included transient cerebral ischemia during or after therapy requiring volume expansion in seven cases, embolic symptoms requiring antiplatelet medication in two cases, and stroke in four cases; there were no deaths. Detachable balloon embolization therapy, particularly for large and giant symptomatic aneurysms of the cavernous ICA, can be an effective mode of treatment.


1984 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 560-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Pelz ◽  
Fernando Viñuela ◽  
Allan J. Fox ◽  
Charles G. Drake

✓ The clinical and angiographic records were reviewed for 71 patients with giant aneurysms of the posterior circulation, who underwent therapeutic occlusion of the basilar artery or both vertebral arteries. This treatment is used when the aneurysm neck cannot be surgically clipped, and occlusion of the parent artery is performed to initiate thrombosis within the lumen. In these cases, collateral blood flow to the brain stem is supplied mainly by the posterior communicating arteries. Consequently, their angiographic morphology (patency, size, and number) is demonstrated as a preoperative indicator of whether the patient will be able to tolerate vertebrobasilar occlusion. Vertebral angiograms with carotid artery compression (the Allcock test) will often be needed to provide this information. The data relating posterior communicating artery morphology to clinical outcome in 71 cases of attempted vertebrobasilar occlusion are presented. The use and accuracy of carotid artery compression studies are also discussed. It is essential for the radiologist to supply the neurosurgeon with this valuable information in every case of giant posterior circulation aneurysm.


2005 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiko Sagara ◽  
Hiro Kiyosue ◽  
Yuzo Hori ◽  
Michifumi Sainoo ◽  
Hirofumi Nagatomi ◽  
...  

Object. The authors compared the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed computerized tomography (CT) angiography with 3D digital subtraction (DS) angiography in assessing intracranial aneurysms after clip placement. A retrospective review of clinical cases was performed. Methods. Between May 2001 and May 2003, 17 patients with a total of 20 intracranial aneurysms underwent 3D CT and 3D DS angiography following clip placement. The authors assessed the presence or absence of residual aneurysm necks and stenoocclusive changes in the parent artery and the neighboring artery. The efficacy of CT angiographic visualization was also evaluated. In 12 of the 20 aneurysms, both 3D modalities similarly demonstrated the residual aneurysm neck and stenoocclusive changes in the parent artery and neighboring artery. Three-dimensional CT angiography failed to demonstrate three of the aneurysms, and the studies were not considered suitable for evaluation because of the presence of metallic artifacts. In the remaining five studies, the 3D CT angiograms did not effectively demonstrate the neighboring and parent arteries. The detectability of residual aneurysm necks was correlated with the clip material and with the number of clips applied. Conclusions. Three-dimensional DS angiography is still necessary in cases involving multiple clips or with cobalt alloy clips because the clips appear as metal artifacts on 3D CT angiography.


1999 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 538-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Lanzino ◽  
Ajay K. Wakhloo ◽  
Richard D. Fessler ◽  
Mary L. Hartney ◽  
Lee R. Guterman ◽  
...  

Object. Results of previous in vitro and in vivo experimental studies have suggested that placement of a porous stent within the parent artery across the aneurysm neck may hemodynamically uncouple the aneurysm from the parent vessel, leading to thrombosis of the aneurysm. For complex wide-necked aneurysms, a stent may also aid packing of the aneurysm with Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs) by acting as a rigid scaffold that prevents coil herniation into the parent vessel. Recently, improved stent system delivery technology has allowed access to the tortuous vascular segments of the intracranial system. The authors report here on the use of intracranial stents to treat aneurysms involving different segments of the internal carotid artery (ICA), the vertebral artery (VA), and the basilar artery (BA).Methods. Ten patients with intracranial aneurysms located at ICA segments (one petrous, two cavernous, and three paraclinoid aneurysms), the VA proximal to the posterior inferior cerebellar artery origin (one aneurysm), or the BA trunk (three aneurysms) were treated since January 1998. In eight patients, stent placement across the aneurysm neck was followed (immediately in four patients and at a separate procedure in the remaining four) by coil placement in the aneurysm, accomplished via a microcatheter through the stent mesh. In two patients, wide-necked aneurysms (one partially thrombosed BA trunk aneurysm and one paraclinoid segment aneurysm) were treated solely by stent placement; coil placement may follow later if necessary.No permanent periprocedural complications occurred and, at follow-up examination, no patient was found to have suffered symptoms referable to aneurysm growth or thromboembolic complications. Greater than 90% aneurysm occlusion was achieved in the eight patients treated by stent and coil placement as demonstrated on immediate postprocedural angiograms. Follow-up angiographic studies performed in six patients at least 3 months later (range 3–14 months) revealed only one incident of in-stent stenosis. In the four patients originally treated solely by stent placement, no evidence of aneurysm thrombosis was observed either immediately postprocedure or on follow-up angiographic studies performed 24 hours (two patients), 48 hours, and 3 months later, respectively.Conclusions. A new generation of flexible stents can be used to treat complex aneurysms in difficult-to-access areas such as the proximal intracranial segments of the ICA, the VA, or the BA trunk. The stent allows tight coil packing even in the presence of a wide-necked, irregularly shaped aneurysm and may provide an endoluminal matrix for endothelial growth. Although convincing experimental evidence suggests that stent placement across the aneurysm neck may by itself promote intraluminal thrombosis, the role of this phenomenon in clinical practice may be limited at present by the high porosity of currently available stents.


1996 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Pierre Gobin ◽  
Fernando Viñuela ◽  
John H. Gurian ◽  
Guido Guglielmi ◽  
Gary R. Duckwiler ◽  
...  

✓ Results in nine patients with large or giant fusiform intracranial aneurysms that were treated with Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs) are reported. There were six males and three females between the ages of 12 and 63. Four patients presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and four with mass effect; in one patient the aneurysm was asymptomatic and located in an arterial feeder of an arteriovenous malformation. Five aneurysms were supratentorial and four were in the posterior fossa. Five were giant and four were large. Selective occlusion with preservation of the parent artery was attempted in three cases, and complete occlusion of the aneurysm and the parent artery was performed in six patients. The tolerance to parent artery occlusion was assessed by angiography, balloon test occlusion, and amytal testing. Six aneurysms were permanently occluded and two partially recanalized. In one case, GDC embolization was not possible. The four patients who presented with SAH made an excellent clinical recovery. Three of the four patients presenting with mass effect recovered completely and one remained unchanged. The patient with an incidental aneurysm remained asymptomatic. There were no permanent complications. In conclusion, GDCs were useful for the occlusion of large and giant intradural fusiform aneurysms. Occlusion of the aneurysm and the parent artery afforded the greatest opportunity for a complete cure. Advantages of GDCs compared to balloons include: occlusion of a shorter segment of normal artery, no traction on the parent vessel, and safer and easier catheterization techniques.


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.


1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 1050-1055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe P. Maeder ◽  
Reto A. Meuli ◽  
Nicolas de Tribolet

✓ This study was undertaken to evaluate the capacity of three-dimensional (3-D) time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance (MR) angiography with VoxelView (VV) 3-D volume rendering to detect and characterize intracranial aneurysms and to compare this rendering technique with that of maximum intensity projection (MIP). Forty patients with a total of 53 intracranial aneurysms (10 giant and subgiant, 43 saccular) were consecutively admitted to University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland, and investigated with 3-D TOF MR angiography. Source images of the 43 saccular aneurysms were processed with both MIP and VV. The aneurysm detection rate of the two techniques and their ability to characterize features of an aneurysm, such as its neck and its relation to the parent vessel, were compared. Intraarterial digital subtraction angiography was used as the gold standard to which these techniques could be compared and evaluated. Four aneurysms, less than 3 mm in size, were missed using MIP compared to three missed using VV. The representation of aneurysmal morphology using VV was superior to that found using conventional angiography in nine cases, equal in 16 cases, and inferior in seven cases. The representation of the aneurysm neck using VV was superior to MIP in 21 cases, equal in 17 cases, and inferior in one case; it was superior to that shown using conventional angiography in 10 cases, equal in 18 cases, and inferior in four cases. Time-of-flight MR angiography in conjunction with both MIP and VV 3-D reconstruction was able to visualize all aneurysms that were larger than 3 mm. Compared to MIP, VV provides a better definition of the aneurysm neck and the morphology of saccular aneurysms, making VV valuable for use in a preoperative diagnostic workup.


1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 694-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Hodes ◽  
Armand Aymard ◽  
Y. Pierre Gobin ◽  
Daniel Rüfenacht ◽  
Siegfried Bien ◽  
...  

✓ Among 121 intracerebral aneurysms presenting at one institution between 1984 and 1989, 16 were treated by endovascular means. All 16 lesions were intradural and intracranial, and had failed either surgical or endovascular attempts at selective exclusion with parent vessel preservation. The lesions included four giant middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms, one giant anterior communicating artery aneurysm, six giant posterior cerebral artery aneurysms, one posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm, one giant mid-basilar artery aneurysm, two giant fusiform basilar artery aneurysms, and one dissecting vertebral artery aneurysm. One of the 16 patients failed an MCA test occlusion and was approached surgically after attempted endovascular selective occlusion. Treatment involved pretreatment evaluation of cerebral blood flow followed by a preliminary parent vessel test occlusion under neuroleptic analgesia with vigilant neurological monitoring. If the test occlusion was tolerated, it was immediately followed by permanent occlusion of the parent vessel with either detachable or nondetachable balloon or coils. The follow-up period ranged from 1 to 8 years. Excellent outcomes were obtained in 12 cases with complete angiographic obliteration of the aneurysm and no new neurological deficits and/or improvement of the pre-embolization symptoms. Four patients died: two related to the procedure, one secondary to rupture of another untreated aneurysm, and the fourth from a postoperative MCA thrombosis after having failed endovascular test occlusion. The angiographic, clinical, and cerebral blood flow criteria for occlusion tolerance are discussed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 963-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie S. K. Kwan ◽  
Carl B. Heilman ◽  
William A. Shucart ◽  
Richard P. Klucznik

✓ Two patients with distal basilar aneurysms were treated with intra-aneurysmal balloon occlusion. After apparently successful therapy, follow-up angiograms demonstrated aneurysm enlargement with balloon migration distally in the sac. Geometric mismatch between the base of the balloons and the aneurysm neck together with transmitted pulsation through the 2-hydroxyl-ethylmethacrylate (HEMA)-filled balloon directly contributed to aneurysm enlargement. In this report, the authors discuss the problems of progressive aneurysm enlargement due to a “water-hammer effect” and the possibility of hemorrhage following subtotal occlusion.


1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Nichols ◽  
Robert D. Brown ◽  
Kent R. Thielen ◽  
Fredric B. Meyer ◽  
John L. D. Atkinson ◽  
...  

✓ The authors report their experience using electrolytically detachable coils for the treatment of ruptured posterior circulation aneurysms. Twenty-six patients with 28 posterior circulation aneurysms were treated. All patients were referred for endovascular treatment by experienced vascular neurosurgeons. Patients underwent follow-up angiography immediately after treatment, 1 to 6 weeks posttreatment, and 6 months posttreatment. Six-month follow-up angiograms obtained in 19 patients with 20 aneurysms demonstrated that 18 (90%) of the 20 aneurysms were 99 to 100% occluded, one aneurysm (5%) was approximately 90% occluded, and one aneurysm (5%) was approximately 75% occluded. The patient with the aneurysm that was approximately 75% occluded needed additional treatment, consisting of parent artery balloon occlusion, and was considered a treatment failure (3.8% of patients). There was one treatment-associated mortality (3.8%) but no treatment-associated serious neurological or nonneurological morbidity in the patient group. There was no recurrent aneurysm rupture during treatment or during the mean 27-month follow-up period. Endovascular treatment of ruptured posterior circulation aneurysms with electrolytically detachable coils can be accomplished with low morbidity and mortality rates. The primary goal of treatment—preventing recurrent aneurysm—can be achieved over the short term. Endovascular coil occlusion will play an important role in the treatment of ruptured posterior circulation aneurysms, particularly if long-term efficacy in preventing recurrent aneurysm hemorrhage can be documented.


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