Microsurgery of Giant Intracranial Aneurysm: A Single Institution Outcome Study

Background: Giant intracranial aneurysms (GIAs) are treacherous lesions and in spite of the many advances, endovascular therapy (EVT) of GIAs is challenging. Objective: A retrospective analysis of our results with microsurgery of GIAs is presented to examine the role of microsurgery in the current trend of EVT. Materials and Methods: Between 1996 and 2019, 134 patients with 147 GIAs had microsurgery by the senior author in a single institute. The medical and imaging records for all the patients were reviewed. The patient outcome was determined by modified Rankin scale (mRS); ≤3 was considered as a good outcome. Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS program and odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were computed; a probability value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were 123 aneurysms (83.7%) in the anterior circulation and 24 aneurysms (16.3%) in the posterior circulation. Overall 103 out of 134 (76.8%) patients had a good outcome postoperatively. Good preoperative mRS score (≤3) had an overall good prognosis in the postoperative period and was statistically significant (P = 0.000, odds ratio: 0.036, 95% CI: 0.008-0.171). Presence of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was also statistically significant for good outcome (P = 0.04, odds ratio: 2.898, 95% CI: 1.051-7.991), but age was not a significant prognostic factor. Mortality within 30 days of treatment was 4.47%. Conclusion: GIAs need treatment because of their dismal natural history. Results of microsurgical treatment by a single surgeon of the large current series compare well with the results of EVT and justifies pursuing microsurgery for GIAs.