Reconstructive endovascular treatment of fusiform and dissecting basilar trunk aneurysms with flow diverters, stents, and coils.
OBJECTIVE
Patients with fusiform basilar trunk aneurysms have a poor prognosis. Reconstructive endovascular therapy is possible with modern devices. We describe the clinical presentation, radiologic features, and clinical outcome of 13 patients with fusiform basilar trunk aneurysms treated with flow diverters, stents, and coils.


METHODS
Of the 13 patients, 7 were men and 6 were women with a mean age of 59.7 years. Clinical presentation was SAH in 3 patients, mass effect on the brain stem in 4 patients, vertebral artery dissection in 1 patient, and the aneurysm was an incidental finding in 5 patients. Mean aneurysm size was 21 mm. All except 1 were large or giant aneurysms. Nine aneurysms were partially thrombosed.


RESULTS
Stents were used in all 13 patients, in 2 patients with additional flow diverters and in 11 patients with additional coils. In 4 patients, 1 vertebral artery was subsequently occluded with coils to decrease flow into the aneurysm. Of 13 patients, 9 had a good outcome with adequate aneurysm occlusion and stable size on follow-up of 6-72 months. One of 3 patients who presented with SAH died of a rebleed 1 month later. One other patient died soon after treatment of in-stent thrombosis, and another patient became mute after treatment. In 2 of 3 patients who presented with symptoms of mass effect, there was improvement at a follow-up of 6-24 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Reconstructive endovascular therapy of fusiform and dissecting basilar trunk aneurysms is feasible but carries substantial risks. The safety and effectiveness in relation to natural history has not yet been elucidated.
Department of Radiology, St. Elisabeth Ziekenhuis, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
L I
LI
van Oel
W J
WJ
van Rooij
M
M
Sluzewski
G N
GN
Beute
P N M
PN
Lohle
J P P
JP
Peluso
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome