Cerebral Aneurysm Coil Embolization with a Coil-Assisted Technique Using a Small-Diameter Helical Coil

OBJECTIVE: We introduce a coil-assisted technique using a small diameter helical coil to preserve a branch artery in the aneurysm neck or dome during coil embolization of a cerebral aneurysm. CASE PRESENTATIONS: We report three cases that were treated with the coil-assisted technique. Using this method, the branch artery was preserved with a small diameter helical coil that was placed to support another frame coil. The first case was a ruptured internal carotid artery–posterior communicating artery (IC–Pcom) aneurysm, the second case was a ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm, and the third case was an unruptured IC–Pcom aneurysm, with branching of the Pcom, A2, and Pcom, respectively, from the neck or dome of the aneurysm. We were able to preserve the branch artery in all cases. CONCLUSION: This technique is feasible and safe for coil embolization of intracranial branch-incorporated aneurysms. The technique is especially useful for preserving branch arteries that are difficult to preserve by conventional techniques.