Clinical characteristics and endovascular treatment in patients with intracranial giant serpentine aneurysms

Background Giant serpentine aneurysms (GSAs) are a rare subtype of intracranial aneurysm. Recently, GSAs have been successfully treated with endovascular parent artery occlusion with or without distal bypass. The present study retrospectively analyzed the clinical outcomes of endovascular parent artery occlusion for intracranial GSAs. Methods Medical records and cerebral angiograms from our endovascular center were retrospectively analyzed. Twenty-two patients with serpentine aneurysms were treated with endovascular occlusion of the parent artery at the site of the aneurysm. These patients had selective treatment. Clinical and angiographic outcomes of the patients were assessed between the 3-month to 3-year stage. Results The clinical manifestations of GSA included headache, hemiparesis, SAH, epilepsy, memory loss, right oculomotor palsy, and intracerebral hemorrhage. No cerebral infarction occurred. The average Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score was 5. There were no clinical complications and none of the patients had recurrence after selective embolization. All of the patients recovered well, and no recurrence or rebleeding was noted at the follow-up. Conclusions Endovascular parent artery occlusion may be a safe and effective way to treat intracranial GSAs.