Spontaneous disappearance of a small unruptured cerebral aneurysm in the clinoid segment of the internal carotid artery: A case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Various degrees of thrombosis have been reported in patients with giant aneurysms. However, small, unruptured aneurysms rarely resolve spontaneously. Herein, we report a case of a small unruptured aneurysm in the clinoid segment (C3) of the left internal carotid artery (ICA) that showed almost complete occlusion at the 1-year follow-up.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 66-year-old woman developed a subarachnoid hemorrhage on the left side of the perimesencephalic cistern. Cerebral angiography performed on admission revealed no evidence of hemorrhage. Subsequent cerebral angiography on day 12 revealed a dissecting aneurysm on a branch of the superior cerebellar artery (SCA), and the patient underwent parental artery occlusion with 25% n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on day 22 with a modified Rankin Scale score of 1. The 1 year follow-up cerebral angiogram demonstrated that the dissecting aneurysm in the SCA branch remained occluded. Notably, a small 2-mm unruptured aneurysm in the clinoid segment (C3) of the left ICA, which was present at the onset of subarachnoid hemorrhage, was almost completely occluded without intervention. Magnetic resonance angiography 1 year after spontaneous resolution of the aneurysm showed no apparent recurrence.

CONCLUSION: This case highlights that even small, unruptured aneurysms can develop spontaneous occlusions.