Abstract
Background: The authors present a patient who experienced late (5-year follow-up) morphological progression of a dissecting aneurysm of the distal basilar artery after treatment with a combined microsurgical and neuroendovascular Hunterian strategy. In addition to postulating about the possible reasons underlying the evolution of this lesion, the role of stenting is discussed. Case Description: The patient was 37 years old when she suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage from spontaneous basilar artery dissection. At the time of the hemorrhage, minimal aneurysmal enlargement was noted angiographically, and she was therefore treated nonoperatively. On reimaging 5 months later, massive enlargement of the aneurysm was noted. The patient was treated with staged bilateral vertebral artery sacrifice using a combination of microsurgical and neuroendovascular techniques. The dominant vertebral artery was clip-ligated distal to the posteroinferior cerebellar artery, whereas the contralateral vertebral artery was coil-occluded cervically 1 week later. Conclusions: Despite the patient remaining asymptomatic, follow-up angiography 5 years after the initial hemorrhage revealed further enlargement of the aneurysm as well as a newly discovered inferiorly projecting daughter sac measuring 5 mm in diameter. Clearly, certain aneurysms exist for which indirect approaches involving hemodynamic attenuation fail to prevent progression. With greater refinements in stent technology, such lesions may be more effectively treated.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 236-243 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Surgical neurology |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2005 |
Keywords
- Basilar artery
- Bilateral vertebral occlusion
- Dissecting aneurysm
- Endovascular coiling
- Hunterian
- Pseudoaneurysm
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery
- Clinical Neurology