Endovascular Treatment of Intracranial Wide-Necked Aneurysms with GDCs Combined with Balloon or Stent

This article introduces our experience in embolizing wide-necked intracranial aneurysms with GDCs combined with balloon or stent. Fifty-five patients with wide-necked intracranial aneurysms (aneurysm neck ranged 2.1-7.0 mm, body/neck ≤2) underwent embolizing treatment with GDCs combined with balloon or stent. Twenty patients were treated with balloon technique. Only one complication occurred when one loop of a coil herniated into the parent artery after the GDC were detached, but no parent artery obstruction occurred. One patient died because from aneurysm rupture caused by herniation of the balloon through the over wide neck into the aneurysm during inflating. Thirty-five patients were treated with the stent technique. Five aneurysms were treated using a stent alone. Two of the five aneurysms could not be recognized from DSA after the stents were released (three and six month follow-ups showed no recurrence), one of the five ruptured leading to the patient's death two weeks after the operation. There was no aneurysm recurrence seen by DSA in the post operative follow-up of six to 12 months. GDCs combined with balloon or stent techniques are safe and effective in treatment of wide-necked intracranial aneurysms.