A Novel Method for Excluding Aneurysms From the Cerebral Circulation: Preliminary Results in Rabbits

Despite many advances in the treatment of cerebral aneurysms in the last few decades, none of the available methods provide an unequivocal solution for all aneurysm sizes and morphologies. The feasibility of successfully treating aneurysms solely by the placement of an intravascular flow-diverting mesh across the aneurysm neck was established more than a decade ago [1]. Flow diverters disrupt the momentum exchange between the parent artery and aneurysm and significantly reduce intraaneurysmal hydrodynamic vorticity and kinetic energy. The resultant flow stasis promotes thrombus formation within the aneurysm sac, which eventually matures into fibrotic tissue, leading to exclusion of the aneurysm from the circulation. With the increased use of stents in the intracranial circulation, cases where coiling is not feasible, or is staged as a secondary procedure, are providing clinical evidence of the successful treatment of aneurysms with stents alone [2,3]. Methodological evidence of the performance of appropriately designed flow diverters in treating cerebral aneurysms has recently become available in the literature [4,5].