A rare case of jugular bulb diverticulum presenting as Meniere's disease, treated with embolization.

BACKGROUND:   Jugular bulb diverticulum constitutes a rare clinical entity that may present with variable symptoms. When obstructing the endolymphatic duct, it may cause sensorineural hearing loss and vertigo, mimicking Meniere's disease. Diagnosis is based on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans, with magnetic resonance and digital subtraction angiography being more specific and detailed diagnostic methods. Treatment options include surgical decompression, endovascular embolization, or stenting. Description of the case: We report a jugular bulb diverticulum case manifesting as Meniere's disease and treated with endovascular embolization. The procedure was uneventful, and the patient's vertigo gradually disappeared over two months. No medical treatment was required for the next 2.5 years as the patient remained asymptomatic with no more vertigo attacks. CONCLUSION: Endovascular embolization can be the method of choice in selected cases of jugular bulb diverticulum. HIPPOKRATIA 2019, 23(4): 172-174.

Successful embolization of iatrogenic ruptured coronary artery using Onyx: a new technique.

Iatrogenic perforation of coronary artery is rare during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI); however the complications are life-threatening. Patients in this clinical setting may be treated either by stent placement, closure of the perforation with fibrin glue or coils, or with emergency bypass surgery. Onyx, a new material that has been used successfully in cerebral arteries, represents a new and safe alternative. The advantage of Onyx is that it is easily injected through a microcatheter and it allows for a longer injection time having also the ability to reach difficult anatomical locations. We present the first case of successful embolization of a right coronary artery perforation during coronary angiography using Onyx.

Local intra-arterial eptifibatide for intraoperative vessel thrombosis during aneurysm coiling.

We report on our experience with the intra-arterial administration of eptifibatide for thrombolysis during aneurysm-embolization procedures. In 4 cases (3 stent-assisted coiling procedures and 1 with posthemorrhagic vasospasm), we noted the formation of thrombus occluding a vessel. We administered eptifibatide (10-15 mg) through a microcatheter proximal to the thrombus. The thrombus rapidly dissolved, resulting in the recanalization of the occluded vessels with no rethrombosis or hemorrhagic complications.

Guglielmi detachable coils versus matrix coils: a comparison of the immediate posttreatment results of the embolization of 364 cerebral aneurysms in 307 patients: a single-center, single-surgeon experience.

BACKGROUND: Matrix coils are based on Gugliemi detachable coils (GDC) but are covered with polyglycolic/polylactic acid. We present our experience regarding the immediate posttreatment results of aneurysm embolization using the 2 coil systems. PATIENTS: We embolized 219 aneurysms in 187 patients with the use of GDCs and 145 aneurysms in 120 patients with the use of Matrix coils. Age, sex distribution, unruptured aneurysm cases, and multiple aneurysm cases were similar in the 2 groups. The percentage of patients in severe clinical condition was significantly higher in the Matrix group. The mean aneurysm size was slightly larger in the GDC group but the mean neck size was larger in the Matrix group. RESULTS: Satisfactory occlusion (at least 90%) was achieved in 95.9% of GDC-treated aneurysms and in 98.6% of Matrix-treated aneurysms. Procedure-related complications occurred in 19.6% of GDC procedures and in 15.6% of the Matrix ones resulting in procedure-related mortality and morbidity of 3.7% and 2.7% for the GDC group and 2.5% and 1.7% for the Matrix group. In the GDC group, outcome was good (modified Rankin Scale 0-2) in 92.6% of patients with unruptured aneurysms, in 82.6% of patients with Hunt and Hess grade I-III, and in 20.5% of those with Hunt and Hess grade of IV-V. The respective figures were 95%, 85.7%, and 22.7% in the Matrix group. CONCLUSION: In our series, Matrix coils have yielded slightly better results regarding satisfactory occlusion rate and clinical outcome but these differences are not statistically significant and probably reflect our increased experience in aneurysm embolization during the period we used Matrix coils.

Embolization of acutely ruptured and unruptured wide-necked cerebral aneurysms using the neuroform2 stent without pretreatment with antiplatelets: a single center experience.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Neuroform2 stent has been increasingly used in the stent-assisted coiling of wide-necked cerebral aneurysms, mostly after pretreatment with antiplatelet drugs. We retrospectively analyzed our results of stent-assisted coiling without pretreatment with antiplatelets. METHODS: We used 50 Neuroform2 stents in the treatment of 54 aneurysms without pretreatment with antiplatelets. Anticoagulation included intraprocedural heparin, nadroparin for 3 days, clopidogrel for 3 months, and aspirin for 6 months. RESULTS: Forty-nine stents were successfully deployed, and 52 of 54 aneurysms coiled (51 totally occluded and 1 subtotally). There was only one case of intraprocedural thrombus formation that was easily treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator. No serious hemorrhagic complications occurred during the follow-up period, and all 18 patients whose aneurysms have been controlled with angiography were found to have patent stents without stenosis and no aneurysm recanalization. No aneurysm rebleeding has occurred. CONCLUSION: We believe that stent-assisted coiling with the Neuroform2 stent is very effective and safe without pretreatment with antiplatelets in ruptured as well as in unruptured aneurysms.