Overlapping stent-assisted coil embolization for vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms: a single-center study.

Effective treatment strategies for vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms (VBDAs) remain controversial due to their high morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of overlapping stent-assisted coil embolization (OSCE) in VBDA patients. A total of 42 patients with VBDA were retrospectively examined by OSCE from May 2015 to August 2019. Patients' clinical and radiological parameters were assessed at discharge and during interim follow-up. Safety, technical feasibility and follow-up clinical and imaging observations for therapy were also evaluated retrospectively. The average age of the 42 patients who underwent OSCE was 54 years (range 33 to 74 years). Overlapping stents were successfully implanted in all patients after coil embolism. Overall clinical results were effective (score on a modified Rankin scale from 0 to 2) in all patients. In the meantime, all patients had favorable outcomes when evaluating telephone calls or digital subtractive angiography (DSA) imaging. Among 42 patients, one patient died due to a perioperative rupture. All the remaining 41 patients had a good prognosis during the follow-up telephone call, with a median follow-up of 28 months (range, 2 to 55 months). The total number of DSA recurrences was 20. Subsequent DSA results showed that all aneurysms were completely occluded while in only one case the parent artery of the aneurysm was completely closed. OSCE in VBDAs patients is safe and effective. This technique showed favorable results in clinical and imaging follow-ups for non-ruptured and ruptured VBDAs.