Disappearance of a small intracranial aneurysm as a result of vessel straightening and in-stent stenosis following use of an Enterprise vascular reconstruction device.

Abstract

In-stent stenosis after stent-assisted coil embolization is a rare but well-known complication. A 32-year-old woman with an unruptured wide-necked left internal carotid artery (ICA) terminus aneurysm and an ipsilateral very small anterior choroidal artery aneurysm underwent stent-assisted coil embolization for the ICA terminus aneurysm. The 4-month follow-up angiography revealed diffuse in-stent stenosis and disappearance of the untreated anterior choroidal artery aneurysm, retaining the patency of the anterior choroidal artery. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the course of in-stent stenosis and disappearance of an untreated small intracranial aneurysm as a result. We report this unique case and discuss the interesting mechanism underlying this phenomenon, and also provide a review of the relevant literature.