Pipeline Embolization Stent for the Treatment of Giant Supraclinoid Aneurysms: A Case Series

Cerebrovascular aneurysms of the supraclinoid region are a technical challenge and can be particularly difficult to treat when greater than 25 mm in diameter. Such giant aneurysms can be approached with various skull-based and endovascular surgical techniques, and the advent of the Pipeline embolization stent presents a new treatment modality. Previously used for the treatment of small aneurysms, the Pipeline embolization device (PED) is a flow diverter device that has more recently been investigated in its use for the treatment of giant aneurysms with few studies to date published about its procedural outcomes. Here, we highlight the case of three patients (two elderly and one middle-aged) presenting symptomatically with giant supraclinoid aneurysms of the cavernous internal carotid artery (ICA) and posterior communicating artery treated with the Pipeline stent and monitored on follow-up visits. We further review the most current case reports and the two clinical trials to date investigating the utility of the Pipeline stent in the treatment of large and giant cerebral aneurysms, highlighting the emerging evidence of its efficacy and long-term patient outcomes. We report successful resolution of symptoms and radiographic evidence of aneurysm size reduction on all patient follow-ups and suggest the Pipeline embolization device as a novel technique that can be utilized for the treatment of giant cerebrovascular aneurysms with emerging evidence of immediate and long-term success.