PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - A.R. Martin
AU  - J.P. Cruz
AU  - C. O'Kelly
AU  - M. Kelly
AU  - J. Spears
AU  - T.R. Marotta
TI  - Small Pipes: Preliminary Experience with 3-mm or Smaller Pipeline Flow-Diverting Stents for Aneurysm Repair prior to Regulatory Approval
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A4170
DP  - 2015 Mar 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 557--561
VI  - 36
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/36/3/557.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/36/3/557.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2015 Mar 01; 36
AB  - SUMMARY: Flow diversion has become an established treatment option for challenging intracranial aneurysms. The use of small devices of ≤3-mm diameter remains unapproved by major regulatory bodies. A retrospective review of patients treated with Pipeline Embolization Devices of ≤3-mm diameter at 3 Canadian institutions was conducted. Clinical and radiologic follow-up data were collected and reported. Twelve cases were treated with ≥1 Pipeline Embolization Device of ≤3-mm diameter, including 2 with adjunctive coiling, with a median follow-up of 18 months (range, 4–42 months). One patient experienced a posttreatment minor complication (8%) due to an embolic infarct. No posttreatment hemorrhage or delayed complications such as in-stent stenosis/thrombosis were observed. Radiologic occlusion was seen in 9/12 cases (75%) and near-occlusion in 2/12 cases (17%). Intracranial aneurysm treatment with small-diameter flow-diverting stents provided safe and effective aneurysm closure in this small selected sample. These devices should be further studied and considered for regulatory approval. PEDPipeline Embolization DevicePICAposterior inferior cerebellar artery