The Guglielmi detachable coil "crescent" in the endovascular treatment of peripheral brain aneurysms: technical case report.
OBJECTIVE
Peripheral brain aneurysms arise from the distal segments of cerebral arteries. They can be treated by surgery or by an endovascular approach. We present our experience of endovascular treatment of peripheral brain aneurysms with a novel endovascular device, the Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) "crescent."


METHODS
The GDC "crescent" is a 5-mm long, curved coil steerable beyond the tip of a microcatheter and detachable at a distance. The GDC "crescent" was used in three cases of intracranial peripheral aneurysms to occlude their parent vessel.


RESULTS
Three peripheral brain aneurysms in three patients were successfully treated with parent vessel occlusion using the prototype GDC "crescent" coils, thereby excluding the aneurysms from the brain circulation. No complications were encountered.


CONCLUSIONS
From this limited experience, the GDC "crescent" seems particularly suitable for the controlled endovascular occlusion of the often-narrow parent artery of distal brain aneurysms.
Guglielmi
Guido
G
Department of Neurosciences, University of Roma La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. guidogdc@yahoo.com
Vinuela
Fernando
F
Guidetti
Giulio
G
Dazzi
Mauro
M
D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000601:surgery; D002533:Cerebral Angiography / Q000379:methods; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000628:therapy*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging