Make Clipping Great Again: Microsurgery for Cerebral Aneurysms by Dual-Trained Neurosurgeons

Despite an increasing focus on endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms, microsurgical clipping remains an integral part of management. We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of microsurgical clipping performed by dual-trained neurosurgeons at our institute, which has adopted an endovascular first approach.

We retrospectively reviewed clinical and radiographic data of 412 aneurysms in 375 patients treated with microsurgical clipping. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictive outcome factors. We defined favorable outcome as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0-2 at last clinical follow-up; unfavorable outcome was an mRS score of 3-6. We compared outcomes in our series with those of seminal aneurysm clipping series.

Clipping of 330 of 351 unruptured aneurysms (94.01%) was associated with favorable outcome during the follow-up period (mean, 26.5 months). On univariate analysis, older patient age, intraoperative rupture, and higher baseline mRS scores were associated with unfavorable outcome in the unruptured cohort. On multivariate analysis, older age, higher baseline mRS scores, and posterior circulation aneurysm location were predictive of unfavorable outcome. Clipping of 46 of 61 ruptured aneurysms (75.4%) was associated with favorable outcome during the follow-up period (mean, 23.1 months). On univariate analysis, left-sided aneurysms, intraoperative rupture, and large aneurysm size were associated with unfavorable outcome in the ruptured cohort. On multivariate analysis, female sex was predictive of unfavorable outcome.

Our ruptured and unruptured cohort results compared favorably with those in seminal series. Treatment by neurosurgeons adept at both endovascular and microsurgical techniques may improve clinical outcomes.