Thrombosis of difficult intracranial aneurysms by the endovascular placement of platinum-Dacron microcoils

Patients with symptomatic aneurysms that are not excluded from the cerebral circulation have a poor prognosis. Standard treatment is surgical exploration with direct clipping of the aneurysm. Because of their large size or relationship to the base of the skull, some aneurysms may not be suitable for direct surgical clipping and may require alternative treatment modalities. A prospective clinical and radiological study of seven patients treated with the endovascular placement of platinum-Dacron microcoils to exclude the aneurysm from the cerebral circulation is reported. The seven patients ranged in age from 37 to 63 years; four were women. At completion of the endovascular procedure, total occlusion of the aneurysm with preservation of the parent artery had been achieved in four patients and 90% occlusion of the aneurysm in two. In the seventh patient, occlusion of the internal carotid artery resulted in the patient's death. At the 6-month follow-up review, both patients with an aneurysm less than 20 mm in size had persistent aneurysm thrombosis; however, the two patients with giant aneurysms had partial recanalization. Both required repeat thrombosis of their aneurysm with the placement of additional microcoils, one at 6 weeks and one at 6 months. These two patients have persistent aneurysm thrombosis at 12 months following their second procedure. The patient mortality rate for this study was 14%, while the procedure mortality/morbidity rate was 9%. It is concluded that thrombotic aneurysm therapy of difficult aneurysms is a safe procedure and will have a place in the treatment of selected aneurysms.