Objective: Giant paraclinoid carotid artery aneurysms frequently require the temporary interruption of local circulation to facilitate safe clip occlusion. Owing to the brisk retrograde blood flow through the ophthalmic artery and cavernous branches, the simple trapping of the aneurysm by cervical internal carotid artery clamping and intracranial distal clipping may not adequately soften the lesion. Retrograde suction decompression aspiration of this collateral supply by a catheter introduced into the cervical internal carotid artery is a popular method to achieve aneurysm deflation. With a large collateral supply, the method is not effective enough. The advent of relatively long and maneuverable soft balloons allows temporary occlusion of the aneurysm orifice.
Methods: We applied this method in two instances of giant carotid ophthalmic aneurysms. In both instances, a 15- to 20-mm-long and 4-mm-wide occlusion balloon was inserted in the internal carotid artery at the level of the aneurysm before craniotomy. After craniotomy and dissection of the aneurysm neck, the balloon was inflated under intraoperative angiographic control.
Results: The aneurysm became soft enough in both cases without tapping and aspiration to allow safe clip occlusion. In the first case, the postoperative course was uneventful and visual acuity improved. A known additional infraclinoid part of the aneurysm was eliminated endovascularly 5 months later using balloon-protected injection of vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx; Micro Therapeutics, Inc., Irvine, CA). In the second case, a postoperative symptomatic vasospasm developed 15 hours after surgery. Hypertensive therapy resulted in the disappearance of symptoms and an otherwise uneventful course with improvement of vision.
Conclusion: This preliminary experience suggests that this new method is a feasible alternative to retrograde suction decompression.