Internal Carotid Artery Injury in Transsphenoidal Surgery: Tenets for Its Avoidance and Refit-A Clinical Study

One of the most serious/potentially fatal complications of transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is internal carotid artery (ICA) injury. Of 6230 patients who underwent TSS, ICA injury occurred in 8 (0.12%). The etiology, possible treatment options, and avoidance of ICA injury were analyzed. ICA injury occurred at two different stages: (1) during the exposure of the sella floor and dural incision over the sella and cavernous sinus and (2) during the resection of the cavernous sinus extension of the tumor. The angiographic collateral blood supply was categorized as good, sufficient, and nonsufficient to help with the decision making for repairing the injury. ICA occlusion with a balloon was performed at the injury site in two cases, microcoils in two patients, microcoils plus a single barrel extra-intracranial high-flow bypass in one case, stent grafting in one case, and no intervention in two cases. The risk of ICA injury diminishes with better preoperative preparation, intraoperative navigation, and ultrasound dopplerography. Reconstructive surgery for closing the defect and restoring the blood flow to the artery should be assessed depending on the site of the injury and the anatomical features of the ICA.