Author(s)

Zenghui Qian, Tangming Peng, Wenjun Ji, Jing Wu, Huibin Kang, Xiaolong Wen, Wenjuan Xu, Aihua Liu, Youxiang Li

Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Beijing, China.

Background and Objective: Giant cavernous carotid artery aneurysms (CCAAs) often produce a variety of neurological deficits, primarily those related to ophthalmoplegia/paresis and headache. This study was designed to evaluate the resolution of symptoms after parent artery occlusion (PAO) treatment for giant CCAAs. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a series of 17 consecutive giant CCAAs treated with PAO treatment. All patients were evaluated by balloon occlusion test (BOT) before treatment. Patients who could tolerate BOT were treated by PAO. The following outcomes were analyzed: angiographic assessment, evolution of symptoms and outcome at clinical follow-up using modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Results: A total number of 17 giant CCAAs were treated by PAO. The initial post-procedure and follow-up angiogram revealed complete occlusion in all patients, no new lesion was detected. Periprocedural infarcts occurred in 1 patient (5.9%). Procedure-related mortality and morbidity were 0% and 5.9%, respectively. At mean 31.8 months clinical follow-up, symptoms had disappeared in 7 (41.2%) of the patients, partially improved in 5 (29.4%), remained unchanged in 4 (23.5%) and worsened in 1 (5.9%) of cases. Sixteen (94.1%) patients presented a good clinical outcome (mRS 0 - 1). Conclusion: Most patients in our series improved or remained stable after PAO. The results of this study indicate that PAO can improve the outcome of those symptomatic giant CCAAs if BOT can be tolerated.

Giant, Cavernous Carotid Artery, Aneurysms, Parent Artery Occlusion

Qian, Z. , Peng, T. , Ji, W. , Wu, J. , Kang, H. , Wen, X. , Xu, W. , Liu, A. and Li, Y. (2014) Resolution of Symptoms after Parent Artery Occlusion Treatment for Giant Cavernous Carotid Artery Aneurysms. World Journal of Neuroscience, 4, 334-340. doi: 10.4236/wjns.2014.44038.