Safety, feasibility, and mid-term follow-up of Willis stent graft placement in the treatment of symptomatic complicated intra- or extra-cranial aneurysms: A multicenter experience.

Zhu, Yue-Qi; Gu, Bin-Xian; Li, Ming-Hua; Wang, Wu; Cheng, Ying-Sheng; Tan, Hua-Qiao; Wang, Jian-Bo; Zhang, Pei-Lei; Ma, Lian-Ting

We report the technical success rate and mid-term follow-up results after deploying stent-grafts to treat a cohort of patients with symptomatic complicated intra- or extracranial aneurysms (SCIEAs). This study was a retrospective review of 58 patients (39 male; mean age 40.4 ± 12.3 years) with 60 SCIEAs treated by 67 Willis covered stents at three medical centers in China between April 2005 and January 2010. The locations of the SCIEAs were as follows: Intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) in 54 patients, extracranial ICA in one, intracranial vertebral artery (VA) in three and extra-cranial VA in two. Surgery was successful in 59 (98.3%) SCIEAs. Total exclusion was immediately achieved in 48 SCIEAs, and minor endoleaks were present in 11. Acute thrombosis occurred in two patients and hemorrhage in one. Follow-up angiography (mean 13.8 ± 8.9 months) revealed that 49 of 52 (94.2%) aneurysms were completely isolated, with mild in-stent stenosis in only two patients and in-stent occlusion in one patient. Willis stent-graft application is an alternative therapy to treat SCIEAs in either intra- or extracranial ICAs or VAs. In the case of a tortuous intracranial ICA or potential side branch coverage, however, it is still not a first choice.

CHINA; SURGERY; INTRACRANIAL aneurysm surgery; ANALYSIS of variance; ANEURYSMS; ANGIOGRAPHY; CAROTID artery; MEDICAL cooperation; HEALTH outcome assessment; RESEARCH; SURGICAL stents; VERTEBRAL artery; PILOT projects; PRODUCT design; TREATMENT effectiveness; RETROSPECTIVE studies; PATHOLOGY

Minimally Invasive Therapy & Allied Technologies, 2010, Vol 19, Issue 6, p320

1364-5706

Academic Journal

10.3109/13645706.2010.527770