Does Age Affects the Surgical Outcome in Patients with Unruptured Cerebral Aneurysms? A 2-Year Retrospective Study from a Single Center in Japan

BACKGROUND: The management of unruptured cerebral aneurysms (UCA) in elderly population is a challenge. With a very high life expectancy and high risk of rupture in Japan, the need for identifying the best treatment modality is essential to help the patients in decision-making. METHODS: This was a 2-year single-center retrospective comparative analysis of the outcomes of surgical clipping (SC) in patients aged above 75 and <75 years. The modified Rankin score was used to stratify the patients and to analyze the functional outcome. Functional status at discharge was the primary end point. RESULTS: There were 224 patients with 239 aneurysms. About 12.5% of the patients were more than 75 years with a mean age of 77.85. The mean age of patients <75 years was 60.96, and it was statistically significant. The overall male-to-female ratio was 1:3.3. The most common location was the middle cerebral artery followed by internal carotid artery at the posterior communicating and ophthalmic segments, and 22 patients had aneurysms of the posterior circulation. Nearly 77% of the aneurysms were <6 mm. There was no significant difference in size of the aneurysm as the age increased to more than 75 years. There were complications in 6 patients, and there was no mortality in the study population. There was no statistically significant difference in the outcome between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: SC can be considered a safe option for UCA in the aging population.