The endovascular approach in the management of patients with multiple intracranial aneurysms

To investigate the role of endovascular treatment we performed a retrospective study of our patients with multiple intracranial aneurysms seen in our institution between October 1992 and March 1995. This period was chosen to study a homogeneous group of patients since the appearance of controlled detachable coils, and to obtain the largest number of patients with angiographic follow-up of the aneurysms treated. We studied 53 patients with a total of 128 aneurysms, in 46 of whom we treated 67 aneurysms by the endovascular approach. Of these, 5 aneurysms in 3 patients were treated by occlusion of the parent vessel and 62 aneurysms in 43 patients with coils, 52 with Guglielmi detachable coils and 10 with mechanically detachable spirals. Complete occlusion was obtained in 58 aneurysms, and partial occlusion in 9. The therapy caused permanent neurological deficit in 3 cases (6.5 %), and there was 1 case of rebleeding (incomplete occlusion of the aneurysm). No deaths occurred. All aneurysms were treated in 29 of the 53 patients. Endovascular procedures were used for 16 patients (30 %), surgery was performed in 1 patient (2 %) and the two were combined in 12 (23 %). In 23 of 53 cases (43 %), unruptured aneurysms were left untreated, usually because of their small size. In 1 patient with unruptured aneurysms, the endovascular approach failed and the patient refused surgery. Received: 1 September 1995 Accepted: 12 August 1996