Microsurgical treatment of ophthalmic segment aneurysms

Abstract

Ophthalmic segment aneurysms refer to superior hypophyseal artery aneurysms, true ophthalmic artery aneurysms, and their dorsal variant. Indications for treatment of these aneurysms include concerning morphological features, large size, visual loss, or rupture. Although narrow-necked aneurysms are ideal endovascular targets, more complex and larger lesions necessitating adjunctive stent or flow-diversion techniques may be suitably treated with long-lasting, effective clip ligation instead. This is particularly relevant in the consideration of ruptured ophthalmic segment aneurysms. This article provides a depiction of microsurgical treatment of ophthalmic segment aneurysms with an accompanying video demonstration. Emphasis is placed on microsurgical anatomy, the intradural anterior clinoidectomy and clipping technique. The intradural anterior clinoidectomy, demonstrated in detail in our Supplementary video, provides significant added exposure of the ophthalmic segment of the internal carotid artery, allowing for improved aneurysm visualization. In the management of superior hypophyseal artery aneurysms, emphasis is placed on identifying and preserving superior hypophyseal artery perforators, using serial fenestrated straight clips rather than a single right-angled fenestrated clip to obliterate the aneurysm. Post-clipping indocyanine green dye angiography is a crucial tool to confirm aneurysm obliteration and the preservation of the parent vasculature and adjacent superior hypophyseal artery perforators. With careful attention to the nuances of microsurgical clipping of ophthalmic segment aneurysms, rewarding results can be obtained.