[Endovascular treatment using endoprosthesis and metallic stents for aneurysmal dissection of the intracranial vertebral artery].

Dissecting aneurysms of the intracranial vertebral artery represent a more frequently recognized cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage. The poor natural history of the ruptured dissecting aneurysms indicate a surgical or endovascular treatment. Endovascular treatment usually consists of balloon occlusion of the vertebral artery. This treatment however can lead to hemodynamic complications especially when the treated artery is unique or dominant. We report two cases of ruptured dissecting aneurysms of the intracranial vertebral artery treated by intravascular stent and endosaccular GDC coils. The first patient suffered from bilateral dissection with spontaneous occlusion of the right vertebral artery and development of a pouch on the left side. The second patient suffered from a dissection of the left vertebral artery which was dominant. The stenting-coiling technique was efficient in the two cases. The patients are free of symptoms with a respective follow up of 24 and 8 months. The stenting-coiling association seems to be an interesting therapeutic option in case of intracranial dissecting aneurysms which allows a preservation of the arterial flow and selective occlusion of the aneurysmal pouch.