Anterior Optic Pathway Compression Due to Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysms: Neurosurgical Management and Outcomes

Compression of the anterior optic pathway results in visual deficits that can lead to the detection of unruptured aneurysms in the internal carotid artery (ICA). The general types of treatment modalities for aneurysms and visual deficits include surgery and endosaccular coiling. This study retrospectively analyzed and compared the resolution of visual deficits following surgery or endosaccular coiling.

We reviewed data on 33 patients with unruptured ICA aneurysms who presented with visual field deficits caused by mass effects over the anterior optic pathway. Statistical analyses were performed to identify the variables associated with the recovery of visual symptoms.

Eighteen patients underwent aneurysm clipping, 2 underwent bypass surgery with endovascular trapping, and 2 underwent endovascular trapping without bypass surgery (group A). Ten patients received endosaccular coiling (group B). The visual outcomes included the following: in group A, 17 patients (73.9%) demonstrated improvement and 6 patients (26.1%) demonstrated no changes or worse outcomes; in group B, 2 patients (20.0%) demonstrated improvement and 8 patients (80.0%) demonstrated no changes or worse outcomes. Group A was associated with a higher rate of favorable outcome than group B (P = 0.007). According to the multivariate analysis, treatment without endosaccular coiling (group A) was the only variable significantly associated with improvement of visual outcome (P = 0.005; OR = 28.523; 95% CI = 2.683-303.171).

Treatment modality was the only predictor of improvement in visual deficits. Treatment without endosaccular coiling resulted in visual improvement significantly more often in comparison with endosaccular coiling.