Surgical Management of a Ruptured and Unruptured Distal Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm. Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature

Introduction

Aneurysms of the distal anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) are uncommon clinical entities. In the largest series of AICA aneurysms to date, Gonzalez et al. [1] described their experience with 34 AICA aneurysms. Of these, only 3 were classified as distal AICA aneurysms arising after the AICA's origin from the basilar artery. 2 of these distal AICA aneurysms were associated with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), however, indicating the rarity of “true” distal AICA aneurysms.

To improve our understanding of these unusual clinical entities and amid evolving treatment options, we present our experience with 2 true distal AICA aneurysms, treated microsurgically within a 2-week period in August and September 2009. We discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic nuances observed in these cases.

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