Petrous Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysm: A Systematic Review

Objective: Petrous internal carotid aneurysm (PA) concomitant with a mass lesion and cranial nerve palsy is relatively rare. Flow-diverter stent implantation is now widely used as an alternative treatment for PA. However, alternative treatments sometimes cannot be used because of tortuosity of the carotid artery, allergies to contrast material, and high costs. The outcomes of different treatment methods should therefore be assessed. Here, we review the available literature on treatments for PA. Methods: In a search using the terms "aneurysm", "carotid artery", and "petrous" on PubMed, MEDLINE, and databases such as OvidSP, 221 articles were identified. We also performed a literature review and discuss and compare the causes, symptoms, treatment methods, and clinical outcomes of PA. Results and Conclusions: Onset of secondary aneurysm was generally heralded by bleeding (p<0.001), while onset of primary aneurysm was heralded by cranial nerve deficit (p=0.0014). Outcomes after treatment of 34 cranial nerve palsies in 25 patients are reported.