Overlapping Stent Treatment for Ruptured Dissecting Aneurysms in Posterior Circulation

Abstract

Ruptured dissecting aneurysms in posterior intracranial circulation present significant clinical challenges and often cause poor prognoses. Our cohort used overlapping stents as the primary treatment. We analyzed the medical records of 27 patients (18 men/nine women) with ruptured posterior circulation dissecting aneurysms (PCDAs). Their average age was 52 years. We selected 11 patients who used Enterprise (EP) and LVIS stents overlappingly and matched them 1:1 with counterparts who received either EP or LVIS stents individually. Overlapping stents was a feasible treatment in all 27 cases. We successfully followed up 26 patients for ≥6 months. Regrettably, one patient died from intracranial hypertension on Day 7 post-procedure. Immediate post-procedure angiographies indicated Raymond grade I, II, and III occlusions of PCDAs in 16 (59.3%), 7 (25.9%), and 4 (14.8%) cases, respectively. At an average follow-up duration of 16.2 months, 25 patients (96.2%) had modified Rankin Scale scores of 0–2, signifying positive outcomes. One patient (3.8%) had a score of 3–4. Recurrence rates for the EP and LVIS stent groups were higher than those of the overlapping stent group (45.45% vs. 9.09%, p = 0.15 and 27.27% vs. 9.09%, p = 0.59, respectively). No significant difference in recurrence rates existed between the overlapping and single-stent groups. Similarly, follow-up outcomes were consistent between the two groups. Overlapping stents could be an efficient method for treating ruptured PCDAs.