Effect on ophthalmic imaging findings of flow-diverting stent treatment covering the origin of the ophthalmic artery.

Abstract

Flow-diverting stents are devices that are increasingly used in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms and expand the spectrum of endovascular treatment. The patency of side branches and perforators is a major concern about flow-diverting stent (FDS) treatment. From 2011 to 2020, seventy-eight patients in whom the orifice of the ophthalmic artery was covered during FDS treatment were evaluated in this study. Bilateral retinal vascular parameters of study subjects were evaluated with OCT and OCTA. The FDS implanted-side eyes of the patients were defined as the procedure group, and the fellow eyes were considered as the control group. Twenty-seven patients who were treated with FDS covering the ostium of the ophthalmic artery and who could undergo full ophthalmologic examination were included in the study. There was no statistically significant difference found in terms of visual acuity, retinal vascular parameters, and choroidal thickness between the procedure group and the control group (p>0.05). However, in one case, recanalized retinal artery branch occlusion was detected on the side where the FDS was implanted. The orifice of the ophthalmic artery is often covered during FDS treatment for carotid-ophthalmic aneurysms; however, this treatment approach has no significant effect on ophthalmic vascular parameters.