Stereotactic angiographic localization as an adjunct to surgery of cerebral mycotic aneurysms: case report and review of the literature.

Abstract

Less than 10% of all aneurysms affecting the arterial cerebral circulation are mycotic in nature. They occur in the setting of bacterial endocarditis and are the cause of considerable morbidity and mortality of affected patients. In selected cases surgery may play a curative role in the treatment plan. These aneurysms frequently arise in distal arterial branches, and their localization during surgery may at times prove laborious. We report the case of a mycotic aneurysm of a distal branch of the anterior cerebral artery surgically treated with the help of angiographic stereotactic localization. Stereotaxy should thus be regarded as a pertinent adjunct in selected cases of surgical treatment of distal mycotic cerebral aneurysms.