Contralateral clipping of middle cerebral artery aneurysms:  rationale, indications, and surgical technique.
BACKGROUND
Contralateral clipping of middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms seems dangerous and ill advised but could become an important technique because of the prevalence of MCA aneurysms, the limitations of endovascular therapy, and increasing interest in less invasive techniques.


OBJECTIVE
To define patient selection, surgical technique, and results with contralateral MCA aneurysm clipping.


METHODS
Forty-two patients with bilateral MCA aneurysms were treated either in 1 stage with a single craniotomy and contralateral aneurysm clipping (group 1, 11 patients) or in 2 stages with bilateral craniotomy (group 2, 31 patients). Surgical technique consisted of ipsilateral sylvian fissure split, subfrontal dissection, contralateral sylvian fissure split, mobilization of medial orbital gyrus, and contralateral aneurysm clipping.


RESULTS
Group 1 patients were older than group 2 patients (60.3 vs 55.4 years, respectively). Clinical presentation with subarachnoid hemorrhage was less common in group 1. Nine group 1 patients (82%) had left-sided craniotomies, and the ipsilateral aneurysm was larger than the contralateral aneurysm. All aneurysms were clipped without intraoperative complications (136 aneurysms). Mean neurosurgical charges were decreased by contralateral MCA aneurysm clipping: $39 297 in group 1 vs $57 977 in group 2.


CONCLUSIONS
Contralateral MCA aneurysm clipping can be viewed as an extreme microsurgical technique or as a less invasive technique that spares patients a second craniotomy in the management of bilateral aneurysms. This technique is acceptable in selected patients with contralateral aneurysms that are unruptured, have simple necks, project inferiorly or anteriorly, are associated with short M1 segments, and reside in older patients with sylvian fissures widened by brain atrophy.
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0112, USA.
Ana
A
Rodríguez-Hernández
Andreu
A
Gabarrós
Michael T
MT
Lawton
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013525:Surgical Instruments