ELANA: Excimer Laser-Assisted Nonocclusive Anastomosis for extracranial-to-intracranial and intracranial-to-intracranial bypass: a review.

ELANA, excimer laser-assisted nonocclusive anastomosis, is a technique using an excimer laser/catheter system for intracranial bypass surgery of the brain. The technique has been developed over the past 12 years by Tulleken and colleagues at UMC Utrecht in The Netherlands for treatment of primarily untreatable giant aneurysms. We review here the emergence of transplanted conduit bypass as a valuable technique for managing these lesions and the subsequent development of ELANA bypass. The ELANA technique allows the operating surgeon to perform an extracranial-to-intracranial or intracranial-to-intracranial bypass using a transplanted large caliber conduit without occlusion of the recipient artery, thus eliminating intraoperative ischemic insult related to temporary occlusion time. We describe the ELANA technique, illustrate it with intraoperative photos, and review the relevant literature. ELANA is shown to be safe; we discuss its advantages over conventional techniques.