Stent-assisted coiling treatment of pediatric traumatic pseudoaneurysm resulting from tumor surgery

Background: Traumatic intracranial pseudoaneurysms in children are typically the result of blunt or penetrating head injury. There are isolated reports of pseudoaneurysm as the result of intracranial aneurysm surgery in both adults and children. Treatment of these lesions, both surgically and endovascularly, can be complicated due to the known variability of arterial wall thickness in traumatic pseudoaneurysms.

Case report: We describe a child who underwent successful craniopharyngioma resection following staged surgical procedures. Follow-up imaging 8 months after the operation demonstrated an enlarging pseudoaneurysm of the left supraclinoid carotid artery. The lesion was successfully treated with stenting of the vessel and coil placement between the stent and the aneurysmal segment of the artery. Follow-up angiographic imaging 6 months later revealed complete obliteration of the aneurysm and normalization of the carotid artery lumen.

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of a pseudoaneurysm secondary to a surgical intervention in childhood that was treated with stent-assisted coiling. This strategy of vascular reconstruction is increasingly used in adults and appears safe to implement in the pediatric population. However, the long-term outcomes and the value of using an antiplatelet regimen in this young population are still to be determined.