Efficacy and safety of flow diversion for paraclinoid aneurysms: a matched-pair analysis compared with standard endovascular approaches.
OBJECTIVE
Flow diversion is a new strategy for the treatment of complex paraclinoid aneurysms. However, flow diverters have, to date, not been tested in direct comparison with other available treatments. We present a matched-pair comparison of paraclinoid aneurysms treated with the PED versus other endovascular techniques.


METHODS
Twenty-one eligible patients with 22 paraclinoid aneurysms treated with the PED at our institution were matched with historic controls with aneurysms of similar size and location.


RESULTS
There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in terms of aneurysm size, location, risk factors, or comorbidities. Mean dome size was 13.9 ± 6.7 mm in the control group and 14.9 ± 6.3 mm in the PED group (P = .52). Balloon and stent assistance were used in 31.8% and 9.1% of controls, respectively, while carotid sacrifice was used in 36.4% of the controls. There was a significant difference in the rate of complete occlusion favoring PED at radiologic follow-up (P = .03).


CONCLUSIONS
Flow diverters achieve a much higher rate of complete angiographic obliteration compared with other standard endovascular techniques in the treatment of internal carotid artery aneurysms. In this series, this higher angiographic obliteration rate did not occur at the expense of an increased rate of complications. Careful long-term follow-up is of the utmost importance to definitively validate flow diversion as a superior therapeutic strategy for proximal internal carotid artery aneurysms.
Departments of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. lanzino.giuseppe@mayo.edu
G
G
Lanzino
E
E
Crobeddu
H J
HJ
Cloft
R
R
Hanel
D F
DF
Kallmes
D000783:Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome