2012 Volume 5 Issue 3 Pages 161-166
Object: We report initial results of our experiences in stent-assisted coil embolization for unruptured cerebral aneurysms using the Enterprise vascular reconstruction device (VRD).
Method: Retrospective analysis of the clinical and angiographic results, complications and outcomes was performed on 31 consecutive patients during the period between July 2010 and May 2011.
Result: The patients (8 male and 23 female) were on average 62.2 years old (range 42-83). Twenty aneurysms were in the anterior circulation (internal carotid artery 18, anterior communicating artery 2), and 11 were in the posterior circulation (posterior cerebral artery 1, basilar artery 6, vertebral artery 4). In 31 aneurysms, 26 were the saccular type and 5 were the fusiform type. Mean diameter of the aneurysms was 12.5±5.2 mm. The jailing technique was used in 8 cases and balloon-assisted technique in 23 cases. The angiographic result of embolization was complete occlusion in 5 (16.2%), neck remnant in 25 (80.6%), and body filling in 1 (3.2%). The average volume embolization rate was 29.3±9.0%. Two patients (6.5%) presented transient ischemic attack in the post-treatment period, though both of them showed complete recovery without any permanent morbidity.
Conclusion: Our initial experiences reveal that stent-assisted coil embolization using the Enterprise VRD appears useful in the treatment of certain cases of wide-neck aneurysm, which are intractable by conventional endovascular techniques, though a long-term follow-up is mandatory to prove its actual usefulness.
