Background:
Giant distal anterior cerebral artery (DACA) aneurysms are extremely rare, with only 32 cases reported in the literature. Most giant DACA aneurysms have features that make standard neck clipping difficult, and bypass surgery is sometimes required, although this surgery was performed in only three reported cases. This report presents the fourth case treated with bypass surgery.
Case description:
A 69-year-old female presented with an unruptured thrombosed giant DACA aneurysm. She underwent wrapping operation 7 years before, but radiological imaging revealed enlargement of the aneurysm at the left pericallosal artery (PerA)-callosomarginal artery (CMA) junction. Before operation, three different strategies were considered for bypass surgery in case the neck could not be clipped. Aneurysm resection and left proximal PerA-CMA end-to-end anastomosis were successfully performed under intraoperative digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and motor-evoked potential (MEP) monitoring.
Conclusion:
Most DACA aneurysms are located at the PerA-CMA junction. In some cases, adequate retrograde flow to the distal PerA from the posterior or middle cerebral artery can be expected, making distal PerA reconstruction unnecessary. Moreover, when the distal PerA is cut, proximal PerA-CMA end-to-end anastomosis can be easily performed because of reduced tension in both vessels. We therefore conclude that this strategy should be utilized for treating such patients. We also presented here the effectiveness of intraoperative modalities, such as intraoperative DSA and MEP monitoring, for performing a safe operation.