Hemodynamic alterations after stent implantation in 15 cases of intracranial aneurysm

Stent-assisted coiling technology has been widely used in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. In the current study, we investigated the intra-aneurysmal hemodynamic alterations after stent implantation and their association with the aneurysm location. We first retrospectively studied 15 aneurysm cases [8 internal carotid artery-ophthalmic artery (ICA-OphA) aneurysms and 7 posterior communicating artery (PcoA) aneurysms] treated with Enterprise stents and coils. Then, based on the patient-specific geometries before and after stenting, we built virtual stenting computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation models. Before and after the stent deployment, the average wall shear stress (WSS) on the aneurysmal sac at systolic peak changed from 7.04 Pa (4.14 Pa, 15.77 Pa) to 6.04 Pa (3.86 Pa, 11.13 Pa), P = 0.001; the spatially averaged flow velocity in the perpendicular plane of the aneurysm dropped from 0.5 m/s (0.28 m/s, 0.7 m/s) to 0.33 m/s (0.25 m/s, 0.49 m/s), P = 0.001, respectively. Post stent implantation, the WSS in ICA-OphA aneurysms and PcoA aneurysms decreased by 14.4 % (P = 0.012) and 16.6 % (P = 0.018), respectively, and the flow velocity also reduced by 10.3 % (P = 0.029) and 10.5 % (P = 0.013), respectively. Changes in the WSS, flow velocity, and pressure were not significantly different between ICA-OphA and PcoA aneurysms (P > 0.05). Stent implantation did not significantly change the peak systolic pressure in either aneurysm type. After the stent implantation, both the intra-aneurysmal flow velocity and WSS decreased independently of aneurysm type (ICA-OphA and PcoA). Little change was observed in peak systolic pressure.