The Art of Basilar Apex Aneurysm Surgery: Is It Sustainable in the Future?

Abstract

There has been a massive shift in the balance toward endovascular therapy for basilar artery (BA) aneurysms in the modern era.We retrospectively reviewed clinical and radiologic data from patients with BA aneurysms who were treated in a single medical center during a 10-year period from August 2006 to May 2016.Thirty-five consecutive patients with 46 aneurysms during the 10-year period were included. The rate of complete aneurysm occlusion in 35 cases using a 1-stage operation was 58.8% (20/34). The graft patency rates of 13 bypass surgeries were 84.6% (11/13) within 1 week and 69.2% (9/13) at 3 months after surgery. The cut flow index for all bypass cases was 0.79. The overall survival was 94% at discharge (2 patients died). The 3-month outcome was favorable (modified Rankin Scale score 0–2) for 27 patients (77.1%) and poor (modified Rankin Scale score 3–5) for 5 patients (14.2%), and 3 patients died (8.6%). The survival for patients with BA apex aneurysms was higher than the survival observed for patients with BA trunk/vertebrobasilar junction aneurysms.Microsurgical treatments for BA aneurysms can be effective, with good patient outcomes in the early stage after operation. Patients with wide-necked, fusiform, or dolichoectatic aneurysms seem to exclude the aneurysm, preventing unnecessary retreatments with bypass techniques. The potential for a poor prognosis of patients with BA trunk/vertebrobasilar junction aneurysms was higher than that for patients with basilar apex aneurysms who presented with unfavorable subsequent events.