Flow-Diverting Stents for the Obliteration of Symptomatic, Infectious Cavernous Carotid Artery Aneurysms

Intracavernous aneurysms constitute up to 9% of all intracranial aneurysms and 6% are infectious (IIA). First line therapy is a protracted antibiotic course, yet with failure, surgery and endovascular parent vessel sacrifice have been utilized. Reconstructive endovascular therapies have emerged for aneurysm control and may demonstrate a safer therapeutic alternative.

To present an IIA treated with a flow-diverting Pipeline stent (ev3 Neurovascular, Irvine, California).

A 41-yr-old female presented with visual loss, ophthalmoplegia, and cavernous sinus thrombosis with an associated phlegmon. Transsphenoidal evacuation was performed without complication or bleeding and she continued on medical therapy. Two weeks postoperatively, she developed a worsening right third cranial nerve palsy and MRA demonstrated a 1-cm right IIA, not evident on postoperative MRI. Three days of dual antiplatelet therapy preceded successful pipeline embolization. Angiography demonstrated aneurysm obliteration at 3 mo and her right ophthalmoplegia resolved.

A literature review identified 6 reported cases of IIAs treated with stent embolization. Only 1 documented a flow-diverting Silk stent used in a child. All lesions were obliterated at follow-up without neurological sequelae. No complication arose with implantation in the setting of infection, and as few as 3 d of dual antiplatelet therapy was sufficient for preprocedural prophylaxis, although in Vivo antiplatelet activity may be more significant.

We report the first case of an IIA treated with a flow-diverting pipeline stent. These devices preserve native vasculature and neurological function compared to surgical and endovascular vessel sacrifice strategies. They appear to be safe management options for the treatment of IIAs.