Purpose: This study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of using overlapping low-profile visualized intraluminal support (LVIS) devices and flow diversion (FD) for the treatment of unruptured vertebral artery dissection (VAD) in the V3-V4 segments.
Methods: The clinical and imaging data of 71 patients with unruptured VAD in the V3-V4 segments who underwent either dual LVIS stenting (d-LVIS group) or single FD stenting (FD group) at our center from September 2014 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: Immediate postoperative angiography revealed no significant difference in the degree of occlusion between the two groups in treating vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms (with or without noncompact coiling). However, the d-LVIS group had significantly higher fluoroscopy exposure time and total radiation exposure dose compared to the FD group. During the perioperative period, two cases of pontine infarction and one case of acute thrombosis were encountered. One patient died from subarachnoid hemorrhage during the follow-up period. For dissecting the aneurysm, angiographic follow-up (8.56 ± 1.96 months) showed similar healing outcomes between the two groups (with or without noncompact coiling). However, seven patients (7/40, 17.5%) showed poor healing and one patient showed mild in-stent stenosis. For simple dissection, angiographic follow-up (8.78 ± 1.83 months) showed patent lumens in both groups, with all dissections healing well, and two patients having mild in-stent stenosis.
Conclusion: Both methods could effectively treat unruptured VAD in V3-V4 segments. Nevertheless, simple FD implantation is relatively easier to perform and involves lower radiation exposure.
Keywords: LVIS stent; Vascular dissection; flow diverter; intracranial aneurysm.