Fernando Viñuela

Fifteen patients with high-risk intracranial saccular aneurysms were treated using electrolytically detachable coils introduced via an endovascular approach. The patients ranged in age from 21 to 69 years. The most frequent clinical presentation was subarachnoid hemorrhage (eight cases). Considerable thrombosis of the aneurysm (70% to 100%) was achieved in all 15 patients, and preservation of the parent artery was obtained in 14. Although temporary neurological deterioration due to the technique was recorded in one patient, no permanent neurological deficit was observed in this series and there were no deaths. It is believed that this new technology is a viable alternative in the management of patients with high-risk intracranial saccular aneurysms. It may also play an important role in the occlusion of aneurysms in the acute phase of subarachnoid hemorrhage.

From December 1990 to July 1995, the investigators participated in a prospective clinical study to evaluate the safety of the Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) system for the treatment of aneurysms. This report summarizes the perioperative results from eight initial interventional neuroradiology centers in the United States. The report focuses on 403 patients who presented with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm. These patients were treated within 15 days of the primary intracranial hemorrhage and were followed until they were discharged from the hospital or died. Seventy percent of the patients were female and 30% were male. The patients' mean age was 58 years old. Aneurysm size was categorized as small (60.8%), large (34.7%), and giant (4.5%); and neck size was categorized as small (53.6%), wide (36.2%), fusiform (6%), and undetermined (4.2%). Fifty-seven percent of the aneurysms were located in the posterior circulation and 43% in the anterior circulation. Eighty-two patients were classified as Hunt and Hess Grade I (20.3%), 105 Grade II (26.1%), 121 Grade III (30%), 69 Grade IV (17.1%), and 26 Grade V (6.5%). All patients in this study were excluded from surgical treatment either because of anticipated surgical difficulty (69.2%), attempted and failed surgery (12.7%), the patient's poor neurological (12.2%) or medical (4.7%) status, and/or refusal of surgery (1.2%). The GDC embolization was performed within 48 hours of primary hemorrhage in 147 patients (36.5%), within 3 to 6 days in 156 patients (38.7%), 7 to 10 days in 71 patients (17.6%), and 11 to 15 days in 29 patients (7.2%). Complete aneurysm occlusion was observed in 70.8% of small aneurysms with a small neck, 35% of large aneurysms, and 50% of giant aneurysms. A small neck remnant was observed in 21.4% of small aneurysms with a small neck, 57.1% of large aneurysms, and 50% of giant aneurysms. Technical complications included aneurysm perforation (2.7%), unintentional parent artery occlusion (3%), and untoward cerebral embolization (2.48%). There was a 8.9% immediate morbidity rate related to the GDC technique. Seven deaths were related to technical complications (1.74%) and 18 (4.47%) to the severity of the primary hemorrhage. The findings of this study demonstrate the safety of the GDC system for the treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms in anterior and posterior circulations. The authors believe additional randomized studies will further identify the role of this technique in the management of acutely ruptured incranial aneurysms.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To report the result of the Mechanical Embolus Removal in Cerebral Ischemia (MERCI) 1 study, a phase 1 trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of mechanical embolectomy in the cerebral vasculature. METHODS: MERCI 1 enrolled 30 patients in 7 US centers. Main inclusion criteria were: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (NIHSS) > or =10; treatment performed within 8 hours from symptoms onset and contra-indication to intravenous thrombolysis; no large hypodensity on computed tomography; and occlusion of a major cerebral artery on the angiogram. Safety was defined by the absence of vascular injury or symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Efficacy was assessed by recanalization rate and clinical outcome at 1 month. Significant recovery was defined as 30-day modified Rankin of 0 to 2 in patients with baseline NIHSS 10 to 20 and 30-day modified Rankin of 0 to 3 in patients with baseline NIHSS >20. The procedures were performed with the Merci Retrieval System, a system specially designed for intracranial embolectomy. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were treated. Median NIHSS was 22. Median time from onset to completion of treatment was 6 hours and 15 minutes. Successful recanalization with mechanical embolectomy only was achieved in 12 (43%) patients, and with additional intra-arterial tissue plasminogen activator in 18 (64%) patients. There was one procedure related technical complication, with no clinical consequence. Twelve asymptomatic and no symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages occurred. At 1 month, 9 of 8 revascularized patients and 0 of 10 nonrevascularized patients had achieved significant recovery. CONCLUSIONS: This phase 1 study shows that cerebral embolectomy with the Merci Retriever was safe and that successful recanalization could benefit a significant number of patients, even when performed in an extended 8-hour time window.

Of 68 patients with unclippable aneurysms treated by proximal artery occlusion with detachable balloons, permanent occlusion was achieved in 65; of these patients, 37 had carotid artery aneurysms below the origin of the ophthalmic artery, 21 had aneurysms arising from the supraclinoid portion of the carotid artery, six had basilar trunk aneurysms, and one had a distal vertebral aneurysm. Examination for treatment selection included assessment of the circle of Willis by compression angiography and xenon blood flow studies, with the ultimate evaluation being test occlusion under systemic heparinization with the balloon temporarily placed in the desired position. Of 67 patients who underwent a formal occlusion test, eight with carotid artery aneurysms did not initially tolerate the occlusion test, and ischemic signs disappeared instantaneously with deflation and removal of the balloon. During test occlusion, two additional patients had ischemic events that proved to be embolic; these reversed immediately upon balloon deflation. Of the 65 patients in whom permanent occlusion was effected by detachable balloon, there were nine instances of delayed cerebral events. One of these was a seizure leading to respiratory arrest and resuscitation 3 days following occlusion in a patient who had presented with seizures. The other eight cases were delayed ischemic events; seven were completely reversed and one patient had residual weakness in one leg (1.5% permanent morbidity). Extracranial-intracranial bypass procedures were performed in 25 of the 65 cases. All aneurysms of the carotid artery below the level of the ophthalmic artery presented angiographic proof of complete thrombosis. Ten of 21 aneurysms arising from the supraclinoid portion of the carotid artery were completely thrombosed by proximal occlusion alone, without additional trapping procedures. Similarly, in three of six basilar trunk aneurysms, proximal occlusion alone initiated complete aneurysm thrombosis without trapping. The conclusion is that proximal balloon occlusion for unclippable cerebral aneurysms is a convenient, safe, and effective way of producing arterial occlusion in these cases.

Evidence on magnetic resonance (MR) images of disk degeneration and herniation, as well as of cord and root impingement, may be regarded either as normal, age-related changes or as causative of symptoms. Individuals referred for MR examinations of the larynx without symptoms referable to the cervical spine were studied retrospectively (35 patients) or prospectively (65 patients) over a 2-year period. With a solenoid surface coil, 5-mm-thick sections were acquired in sagittal, axial, and coronal planes with T1-weighted spin-echo pulsing sequences. Disk protrusion (herniation/bulge) was seen in five of 25 (20%) patients aged 45-54 and 24 of 42 (57%) patients older than 64 years of age. Posterolateral protrusions were seen in only nine of 100 patients and occurred with greatest frequency in patients over 64 years of age. In no patient was obliteration of the intraforaminal fat seen. Spinal cord impingement was observed in nine of 58 (16%) patients under 64 years of age, and in 11 of 42 (26%) patients over 64 years of age. Cord compression was observed in seven of 100 patients and occurred solely secondary to disk protrusion in all cases. The percentage of cord area reduction never exceeded 16% and averaged approximately 7%.