Endovascular treatment of cavernous carotid artery aneurysms: A 10-year, single-center experience

Cavernous carotid artery aneurysms can be treated by several endovascular techniques including flow diversion (FD) and parent vessel occlusion (PVO). We reviewed our institution's consecutive series of endovascularly treated cavernous carotid artery aneurysms to compare these two modalities and their associated clinical and radiographic outcomes.

All patients harboring a cavernous carotid artery aneurysm treated by FD or PVO from January 2008 to December 2018 were enrolled. Data were collected retrospectively and analyzed on patient presentation, aneurysm dimensions, treatments and related complications, rate of aneurysm occlusion, sac regression, and outcomes.

Fourteen patients were treated with FD and 12 underwent PVO subsequent to passing a balloon test occlusion. There was no significant difference between treatment modalities in aneurysmal occlusion (97.0 ± 8.4% (FD) vs. 100% (PVO), p = 0.23), degree of sac regression (62.5 ± 16.7% (FD) vs. 56.8 ± 24.3% (PVO), p = 0.49), or near-complete to complete symptom improvement (66.7% (FD) vs. 81.8% (PVO), p = 0.62). Major complications included subarachnoid hemorrhage from aneurysmal rupture in 1 (7.1%) patient post-FD and 2 (16.7%) ischemic strokes following PVO.

Endovascular treatment of cavernous carotid artery aneurysms by FD or PVO are both effective and safe. There is insufficient evidence to recommend one technique over the other and decision making should be individualized to the patient, their aneurysm morphology, and operator experience.