Confirmation of blood flow in perforating arteries using fluorescein cerebral angiography during aneurysm surgery
Object
The authors performed fluorescein cerebral angiography in patients after aneurysm clip placement to confirm the patency of the parent artery, perforating artery, and other arteries around the aneurysm.
Methods
Twenty-three patients who underwent aneurysm surgery were studied. Aneurysms were located in the internal carotid artery in 12 patients, middle cerebral artery in six, anterior cerebral artery in three, basilar artery bifurcation in one, and junction of the vertebral artery (VA) and posterior inferior cerebellar artery in one. After aneurysm clip placement, the target arteries were illuminated using a beam from a blue light-emitting diode atop a 7-mm diameter pencil-type probe. In all patients, after intravenous administration of 5 ml of 10% fluorescein sodium, fluorescence in the vessels was clearly observed through a microscope and recorded on videotape.
Results
The excellent image quality and spatial resolution of the fluorescein angiography procedure facilitated intra-operative real-time assessment of the patency of the perforating arteries and branches near the aneurysm, including: 12 posterior communicating arteries; 12 anterior choroidal arteries; four lenticulostriate arteries; three recurrent arteries of Heubner; three hypothalamic arteries; one ophthalmic artery; one perforating artery arising from the VA; and one posterior thalamoperforating artery. All 23 patients experienced an uneventful postoperative course without clinical symptoms of perforating artery occlusion.
Conclusions
Because the fluorescein angiography procedure described here allows intraoperative confirmation of the patency of perforating arteries located deep inside the surgical field, it can be practically used for preventing unexpected cerebral infarction during aneurysm surgery.
Abbreviations used in this paper:
AChA = anterior choroidal artery; ACoA = anterior communicating artery; BA = basilar artery; ICA = internal carotid artery; LED = light-emitting diode; LSA = lenticulostriate artery; MACC = median artery of corpus callosum; MCA = middle cerebral artery; PCoA = posterior communicating artery; PICA = posterior inferior cerebellar artery; VA = vertebral artery.
© Copyright 1944-2022 American Association of Neurological Surgeons