PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Park, S.I.
AU  - Kim, B.M.
AU  - Kim, D.I.
AU  - Shin, Y.S.
AU  - Suh, S.H.
AU  - Chung, E.C.
AU  - Kim, S.Y.
AU  - Kim, S.H.
AU  - Won, Y.S.
TI  - Clinical and Angiographic Follow-Up of Stent-Only Therapy for Acute Intracranial Vertebrobasilar Dissecting Aneurysms
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A1561
DP  - 2009 Aug 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1351--1356
VI  - 30
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/30/7/1351.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/30/7/1351.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2009 Aug 01; 30
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Little has been known about the clinical and angiographic follow-up results of stent-only therapy for intracranial vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms (VBDA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, clinical, and angiographic follow-up of stent-only therapy for VBDA.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with 29 VBDAs (11 ruptured, 18 unruptured), not suitable for deconstructive treatment, underwent stent-only therapy. Feasibility, safety, clinical, and angiographic follow-up were retrospectively evaluated. Angiographic outcomes were compared between single-stent and multiple-stent groups.RESULTS: All attempted stent placements were successfully accomplished without any treatment-related complication. Of the 11 ruptured VBDAs, 4 were treated by single stents, 6 by double overlapping stents, and 1 by triple overlapping stents. Of the 18 unruptured VBDAs, 6 were treated by stents, and 12 by double overlapping stents. One patient with a ruptured VBDA, treated by single stent, had rebleeding and died. None of the remaining patients had posttreatment bleeding during follow-up (mean, 28 months; range, 7–50 months). Eight patients with ruptured VBDA and all patients with unruptured VBDA had excellent outcomes (modified Rankin Scale, 0–1). The remaining 2 patients with ruptured VBDA were moderately disabled because of the initial damage. Angiographic follow-up was available in 27 VBDAs, 4 to 42 months (mean, 12 months) after treatment. Follow-up angiograms revealed complete obliteration of the dissecting aneurysm in 12, partial obliteration in 12, stable in 1, enlargement in 1, and in-stent occlusion in 1. Angiographic improvement (complete or partial obliteration) was more frequent in the multiple-stent group (17/17) than in the single-stent group (7/9; P < .05).CONCLUSIONS: In this small series, stent-only therapy was safe and effective in the treatment of VBDAs that were not deemed suitable for treatment with parent-artery occlusion.