Pipeline Embolization Device as primary treatment for blister aneurysms and iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms of the internal carotid artery

Flow Diversion in Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Flow diversion is now an established technique to treat unruptured intracranial aneurysms not readily amenable to endovascular coil embolization or open microsurgical occlusion. The role of flow-diverting devices in treating ruptured aneurysms is less clear.

PURPOSE

To estimate rates of angiographic occlusion and good clinical outcome in patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms treated with flow-diverting devices.

DATA SOURCES

Systematic review of Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane databases, and EMBASE from inception to December 2015 for articles that included ruptured aneurysms treated with flow diversion.

STUDY SELECTION

One hundred seventy-two records were screened, of which 20 articles contained sufficient patient and outcome data for inclusion.

DATA ANALYSIS

Clinical and radiologic characteristics, procedural details, and outcomes were extracted from these reports. Aggregated occlusion rates and clinical outcomes were analyzed by using the Fisher exact test (statistical significance, α = .05).

DATA SYNTHESIS

Complete occlusion of the aneurysm was achieved in 90% of patients, and favorable clinical outcome was attained in 81%. Aneurysm size greater than 7 mm was associated with less favorable clinical outcomes (P = .027). Aneurysm size greater than 2 cm was associated with a greater risk of rerupture after treatment (P < .001).

LIMITATIONS

Observational studies and case reports may be affected by reporting bias.

CONCLUSIONS

Although not recommended as a first-line treatment, the use of flow diverters to treat ruptured intracranial aneurysms may allow high rates of angiographic occlusion and good clinical outcome in carefully selected patients. Aneurysm size contributes to treatment risk because the rerupture rate following treatment is higher for aneurysms larger than 2 cm.

Flow diversion with Pipeline Embolic Device as treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to blister aneurysms: dual-center experience and review of the literature

Background

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) secondary to blister-type aneurysms (BAs) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Microsurgical clipping or wrapping and/or use of traditional endovascular techniques to repair the lesion result in frequent regrowth and rebleeds and ultimately high fatality rates. Because of the purely endoluminal nature of arterial reconstruction, flow diversion may represent an ideal option to repair ruptured BAs.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of our database including all consecutive patients with aSAH secondary to BAs treated with the Pipeline Embolic Device (PED) between November 2013 and November 2015 in two institutions. We collected basic patient demographics, aneurysm size, location, number and sizes of PEDs used, use of coiling, 30-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, and follow-up imaging data.

Results

Ten cases of aSAH were found as a result of a ruptured BA. Patients had a mean age of 47.2 years (range 27–68). Mean Hunt and Hess score was 1.6 (range 1–4). Lesions were predominantly left-sided, mostly along the dorsal aspect of the internal carotid artery, either paraclinoid or paraophthalmic (8/10). In two patients the BA was located in the left middle cerebral artery. All lesions were very small (mean 1.4×1.5 mm; range 0.75–2.1 mm). Placement of a single PED resulted in immediate occlusion or near-occlusion of the BA in 9 out of 10 patients. Nine patients did very well; eight had a 90-day mRS score of 0 and one had a 90-day mRS score of 1. Follow-up digital subtraction angiography was performed in all patients (mean 15 months; range 7–24). In the surviving nine patients there was complete occlusion of the BA on long-term follow-up angiography.

Conclusions

Repair of ruptured BA with PED may be a safe and durable option.

Endovascular management of internal carotid artery injuries secondary to endonasal surgery: case series and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE Internal carotid artery (ICA) injury is a rare but severe complication of endonasal surgery. The authors describe their endovascular experience managing ICA injuries after transsphenoidal surgery; they review and summarize the current literature regarding endovascular techniques; and they propose a treatment algorithm based on the available evidence. METHODS A retrospective review of 576 transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resections was performed. Cases of ICA injury occurring at our institution and transfers from other hospitals were evaluated. Endovascular treatments for ICA injury reported in the literature were also reviewed and summarized. RESULTS Seven cases were identified from the institutional cohort (mean age 46.3 years, mean follow-up 43.4 months [1-107 months]) that received endovascular treatment for ICA injury. Five injuries occurred at our institution (5 [0.9%] of 576), and 2 injuries occurred at outside hospitals. Three patients underwent ICA sacrifice by coil placement, 2 underwent lesion embolization (coil or stent-assisted coil placement), and 2 underwent endoluminal reconstruction (both with flow diversion devices). Review of the literature identified 98 cases of ICA injury treated with endovascular methods. Of the 105 total cases, 46 patients underwent ICA sacrifice, 28 underwent lesion embolization, and 31 underwent endoluminal reconstruction. Sacrifice of the ICA proved a durable solution in all cases; however, the rate of persistent neurological complications was relatively high (10 [21.7%] of 46). Lesion embolization was primarily performed by coil embolization without stenting (16 cases) and stent-assisted coiling (9 cases). Both techniques had a relatively high rate of at least some technical complication (6 [37.5%] of 16 and 5 [55.6%] of 9, respectively) and major technical complications (i.e., injury, new neurological deficit, or ICA sacrifice) (5 [31.3%] of 16 and 2 [22.2%] of 9, respectively). Endoluminal reconstruction was performed by covered stent (24 cases) and flow diverter (5 cases) placement. Covered stents showed a reasonably high rate of technical complications (10 [41.7%] of 24); however, 8 of these problems were resolved, leaving a small percentage with major technical complications (2 [8.3%] of 24). Flow diverter placement was also well tolerated, with only 1 minor technical complication. CONCLUSIONS Endovascular treatments including vessel sacrifice, coil embolization (with or without stent assistance), and endoluminal reconstruction offer a tailored approach to ICA injury management after endonasal surgery. Vessel sacrifice remains the definitive treatment for acute, uncontrolled bleeding; however, vessel preservation techniques should be considered carefully in select patients. Multiple factors including vascular anatomy, injury characteristics, and risk of dual antiplatelet therapy should guide best treatment, but more study is needed (particularly with flow diverters) to refine this decision-making process. Ideally, all endovascular treatment options should be available at institutions performing endonasal surgery.

Flow diverter placement for management of dissecting ruptured aneurysm in a non-fused basilar artery

Intracranial vertebral artery dissection can be associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and pseudoaneurysm formation. Dissecting aneurysms have a high risk of rebleeding in the acute phase. To our knowledge, the management of an acute vertebrobasilar junction dissecting aneurysm associated with a basilar non-fusion has not been previously reported. We report here a case of SAH due to rupture of a dissecting aneurysm involving the vertebrobasilar junction and extending to involve the right limb and proximal junction of a non-fused basilar artery, managed by insertion of a flow-diverting stent with excellent clinical outcome and long-term patency of the flow diverter.

Pipeline Embolization Device for treatment of high cervical and skull base carotid artery dissections: clinical case series

BACKGROUND

Most cervical dissections are treated with anticoagulation or antiplatelet agents with very good results; however, some patients may benefit from endovascular intervention. High cervical and skull base dissections are often more challenging to treat because of the distal location and tortuous anatomy. The Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) may be a reasonable treatment option for this indication.

OBJECTIVES

To report a case series of patients treated with the PED for high cervical and skull base dissections, focusing on their presentation, indications for treatment, dissection revascularization success, and pseudoaneurysm obliteration evaluated by imaging, and to review available pertinent literature.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed all cases of high cervical and skull base dissections treated with a PED at our institution. Patient clinical characteristics, presentation, procedural and follow-up imaging, and clinical course were analyzed to evaluate for procedure complications, dissection revascularization success, pseudoaneurysm obliteration, and clinical outcome.

RESULTS

This is a retrospective case series including 11 patients with 13 carotid dissections treated in our center. There were nine traumatic and four spontaneous dissections. The most common presentation was cerebrovascular accident/transient ischemic attack (CVA/TIA; 5 patients) and headache/face pain (4 patients). Eleven dissections were associated with pseudoaneurysms. Three patients failed medical management with anticoagulation, although flow-limiting stenosis was the main indication for endovascular intervention. Up to three PEDs per vessel were deployed. Angioplasty was used in 10 cases. Complete revascularization (<10% residual stenosis) was achieved in 91% of vessels and 50% of pseudoaneurysms were completely or near completely obliterated immediately after PED(s) deployment. Proximal iatrogenic dissection was the only intraoperative complication. Follow-up imaging was available for nine treated vessels and demonstrated patent PEDs without significant in-stent stenosis up to 9 months after intervention. 75% of pseudoaneurysms were completely obliterated at follow-up. One PED partially collapsed but had no neurological consequences. There were no new CVA/TIAs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our initial experience with treatment of high cervical and skull base dissections with the PED appears to show that this technique may be a safe and viable treatment option. However, long-term results are needed to fully evaluate the efficacy of such treatment.

Morphological aspects of blister aneurysms and nuances for surgical treatment

OBJECT

Blister aneurysms of the supraclinoid part of the internal carotid artery (ICA) are known for their high morbidity and mortality rates related to treatment, regardless of whether the treatment is surgical or endovascular. However, this grim prognosis is based on results that indiscriminately group all blister aneurysms together without taking into account the heterogeneous appearance of these lesions. The goal of this study was 2-fold: to determine whether different blister aneurysm morphologies present different pitfalls, which would then require different surgical strategies, as well as to determine whether there are identifiable subgroups of these types of aneurysms based on morphology.

METHODS

The authors reviewed the charts, cerebral catheter angiograms, surgical reports, and intraoperative videos of all ICA blister aneurysms treated surgically at the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal from 2005 to 2012 to investigate whether there was a relationship between morphology and pitfalls, and whether different surgical strategies had been used according to these pitfalls. During this review process the authors noted 4 distinct morphological aspects. These 4 aspects led to a review of the English and French literature on blister aneurysms in which imaging was available, to determine whether other cases could also be classified into the same 4 subgroups based on these morphological aspects.

RESULTS

The retrospective review of the authors' series of 10 patients allowed a division into 4 distinct subtypes: Type I (classic), Type II (berry-like), Type III (longitudinal), and Type IV (circumferential). These subtypes may at times be progressive stages in the arterial anomaly, and could represent a continuum. Each subtype described in this paper presented its own pitfalls and required specific surgical adaptations. Upon reviewing the literature the authors retained 35 studies involving a total of 61 cases of blister aneurysms, and all cases were able to be classified into 1 of these 4 distinct subtypes.

CONCLUSIONS

Although they share some common characteristics, blister aneurysms may be divided into distinct subtypes, suggestive of a continuum. Such a classification with a detailed description of each type of blister aneurysm would allow for better recognition to anticipate complications during intervention and better assess the different treatment strategies according to the subtypes.

Pipeline embolization for definitive endoluminal reconstruction of blister-type carotid aneurysms after clip wrapping

Background

Ruptured blister aneurysms of the carotid artery are difficult to safely treat. We present a novel strategy of microsurgical clip wrapping of internal carotid artery blister aneurysms in the setting of acute rupture, followed by delayed placement of a pipeline embolization device for definitive treatment.

Clinical presentation

We present two cases of ruptured blister aneurysms of the internal carotid artery treated by wrapping of the diseased segment of the vessel, followed by delayed deployment of a flow diverting stent once the patient was out of the vasospasm window but during the same hospitalization.

Results

Clip wrapping followed by flow diversion in a delayed fashion results in anatomic remodeling of the diseased artery without a high morbidity.

Conclusions

A combined approach of acute surgical stabilization followed by definitive endovascular reconstruction may reduce hemorrhagic complications while improving long term treatment durability.

Endovascular management of intracranial blister aneurysms: spectrum and limitations of contemporary techniques

Background

Intracranial blister aneurysms are rare lesions that are notoriously more difficult to treat than typical saccular aneurysms. High complication rates associated with surgery have sparked considerable interest in endovascular techniques, though not well-studied, to treat blister aneurysms.

Objective

To evaluate our experience using various endovascular approaches to treat blister aneurysms.

Methods

All consecutive blister aneurysms treated using an endovascular approach by the study authors over a 3-year period were retrospectively analyzed. A literature review was also performed.

Results

Nine patients with blister aneurysms underwent 11 endovascular interventions. In various combinations, stents were used in 8/11, coils in 5/11, and Onyx in 3/11 procedures. At mean angiographic follow-up of 200 days, 8/9 aneurysms were completely occluded by endovascular means alone requiring no further treatment and 1/9 aneurysms required surgical bypass/trapping after one failed surgical and two failed endovascular treatments. At mean clinical follow-up of 416 days, modified Rankin Scale scores were improved in six patients, stable in two, and worsened in one patient. One complication occurred in 11 procedures (9%), resulting in a permanent neurologic deficit. No unintended endovascular parent vessel sacrifice, intraprocedural aneurysmal ruptures, antiplatelet-related complications, post-treatment aneurysmal re-ruptures, or deaths occurred.

Conclusion

This series highlights both the spectrum and limitations of endovascular techniques currently used to treat blister aneurysms, including a novel application of stent-assisted Onyx embolization. Long-term follow-up and experience in larger studies are required to better define the role of endovascular therapy in the management of these difficult lesions.