Abstract. The aim of the present study was to analyze the feasibility, rate of procedure-related complications and midterm angiographic follow-up outcomes using the Enterprise (EP) and Solitaire™ AB (ST) stents in the stent-assisted coiling of intracranial aneurysms. In total, 81 patients with 90 aneurysms were included in the study, with the aim to treat 43 aneurysms with the EP stent (47.8%) and 47 aneurysms with the ST stent (52.2%). The 90 aneurysms were successfully stented and subsequently coiled; however, in four patients undergoing treatment with the EP stent, the stent was not navigable; thus, treatment with the ST stent was employed (EP, n=39, 43.3%; ST, n=51, 56.7%). Of the 90 aneurysms, 44 cases were ruptured aneurysms, with 74 located in the anterior circulation and 16 located in the posterior circulation. The stenting success rate of the ST stent was significantly higher compared with the EP stent. However, no statistically significant differences were observed with regard to the packing density, complete occlusion, progressive occlusion, recurrence rate, procedure-related complications, in-stent stenosis and stent migration rates between the two groups. In conclusion, the two common medical devices used for intracranial aneurysms are relatively safe and effective for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. However, due to the higher stenting success rate of the ST stent, this medical devise was demonstrated to be more flexible and feasible compared with the EP stent.
IntroductionEmbolization with Gugliemi detachable coils (GDCs) is considered to be the first-line treatment option for the majority of intracranial aneurysms with small necks (1). However, endovascular treatment for aneurysms of complex morphologies, wide necks or unfavorable dome-to-neck ratios remains a challenge. To improve the efficacy and durability of endovascular treatment for wide-neck aneurysms (2), novel coil designs (including 3D coils) (3) and liquid embolic agents (4) have been developed in the past few years. The efficacy of bioactive coils is controversial, and the development of self-expanding stents has offered more options during the treatment of these aneurysms.The Enterprise (EP; Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., Miami, FL, USA) is a self-expanding, closed-cell design stent with flared ends in which each end has four radiopaque markers that flare out when fully deployed. The EP stent can be retrieved into the delivery catheter unless more than two-thirds of the entire stent length has been deployed (5). The Solitaire™ AB (ST; ev3 Neurovascular, Irvine, CA, USA) stent is a laser-cut, self-expanding and fully retrievable split-design nitinol device. The distinctive feature of this device is its full retrievability until it is electrically detached from the push wire (6).During the last decade, these devices have been widely used and are generally accepted as endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysms. Various studies have reported the characteristics of EP and ST stents (5,7,8); however, to date, there is limited dat...
