Embolization with Stent-Assisted Technique for Wide-Necked Extremely Small Intracranial Aneurysm with Diameter no more than 2 mm

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of embolization with stent-assisted technique for wide-necked extremely small intracranial aneurysms (ESIAs) with diameter no more than 2 mm. Methods: From May 2015 through January 2019, 20 wide-necked ESIAs in 19 patients (6 males and 13 females, aged from 38 to 72 years old, average 59 years old) were embolized with stent-assisted technique. All these patients had a total of 29 aneurysms, 7 patients had multiple aneurysms and 1 patient had 2 ESIAs. 12 patients (63.2%) presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), 9 of them have a culprit ESIA. The angiographic results before and after operation, procedural complications, and clinical condition with Hunt and Hess grade (H-H) and Fisher grade, as well as Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) at discharge were assessed. Follow-up results were evaluated by computer tomograph angiography (CTA) or digital subtract angiography (DSA). Results: The mean diameter of aneurysm neck was 1.68 +/- 0.21 mm. Complete occlusion with Raymond grade I was achieved in 18 aneurysms (90.9%), 2 aneurysms were subtotal embolization with Raymond grade II (9.1%). All patients were treated with coil embolization with stent-assist technique successfully and all the stents were placed accurately and function well during the procedure. There is no rupture of aneurysm during operation, no coil protrusion to the distal blood vessel, and no cerebral infarction as well. When discharged, all patients recovered well. The follow-up results showed that only one patients with recurrence of aneurysm 27 months after embolization. Conclusion: Embolization with stent-assisted technique for wide-necked ESIAs is safe and effective. However, the follow-up is not long enough in our study and a larger sample size are needed to obtain the long-term efficacy.