title: Long-term clinical and imaging follow-up of complex intracranial aneurysms treated by endovascular parent vessel occlusion.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Flow-diverting stents are increasingly being used for the treatment of complex intracranial aneurysms, but the indications for their use in lieu of traditional endovascular PVO have yet to be precisely defined. The purpose of this study was to review the clinical and imaging outcomes of patients with intracranial aneurysms treated by PVO.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 28 patients with intracranial aneurysms, treated by PVO between July 1992 and December 2009, were reviewed. Aneurysms arising from peripheral arteries were excluded. Clinical and imaging data were retrospectively analyzed from a prospectively maintained data base.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 28 patients with 28 aneurysms treated by PVO. Aneurysms of the anterior circulation presenting with mass effect (n = 11) or discovered incidentally (n = 1), and dissecting-type VB aneurysms presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage (n = 6) faired the best with high obliteration rates (83.3% and 83.6%, respectively) and no permanent major ischemic complications. In contrast, VB aneurysms presenting with mass effect (n = 7) demonstrated the lowest obliteration rate (57.1%), the highest rate of permanent major ischemic complications (28.6%), and a high mortality rate (28.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PVO is a safe and effective treatment for complex intracranial aneurysms of the carotid artery and dissecting-type VB aneurysms presenting with SAH. In contrast, PVO for aneurysms of the VB circulation presenting with mass effect is less efficacious and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It is hoped that flow diverters may represent a better treatment technique for these most difficult-to-treat lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Neurovascular & Stroke Programs, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA. charles.matouk@yale.edu
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Matouk
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kaderali
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: terBrugge
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Willinsky
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D021721:Balloon Occlusion / Q000379:methods*; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome