title: The effectiveness of 3T time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography for follow-up evaluations after the stent-assisted coil embolization of cerebral aneurysms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Artifacts introduced by stents limit the value of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as a follow-up modality after the stent-assisted coil embolization of cerebral aneurysms.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the usefulness of 3 Tesla (3T) time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography (MRA) for the follow-up evaluation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two aneurysms of 20 patients treated with stent-assisted coil embolization were followed up with 3T TOF MRA and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) with three-dimensional rotational angiography (3DRA). The status of coiled aneurysms was compared with 3T TOF MRA and DSA with 3DRA in terms of complete occlusion, residual neck, and residual aneurysm. TOF MRA at 3T was performed 1 day before DSA with 3DRA, with a mean follow-up period of 20.1 ± 10.8 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty (90.9%) of 22 cases were concordant between the two modalities. The degree of agreement and correlation between them were high (κ=0.771, P<0.001; r=0.832 and P<0.001). When evaluating the status of residual neck, the sensitivity was 80% (4/5 cases); specificity was not available because there were no cases of complete occlusion. For the status of residual aneurysm, the sensitivity and specificity were 94.1% (16/17 cases) and 100% (all 5 cases), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TOF MRA at 3T with source images could be useful as a non-invasive follow-up modality after the stent-assisted coil embolization of cerebral aneurysms. Further study with a larger patient sample is needed to confirm the effectiveness of 3T TOF MRA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Sang
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea samskim@kangwon.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sam Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kangwon National University Hospital, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction; D016477:Artifacts; D003287:Contrast Media; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000628:therapy*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: 3T TOF MRA; Stent; cerebral aneurysm; coil embolization