Timing and Spectrum of Neurological Complications After Flow Diverter Implantation for Intracranial Aneurysms

Background and Purpose The aim of this study was to characterize neurological complications after flow diverter (FD) treatment on a long follow-up cohort and identify predictive factors associated with these complications. Methods This study was conducted on a monocentric cohort of patients treated for intracranial aneurysms by FD. Results Between September 2008 and July 2018, 413 patients were treated for 514 aneurysms: 18% of the patients presented with at least one neurological complication during a median follow-up of 446 days (IQR 186- 1210). Sixty-one patients presented with ischemic complications, 13 with hemorrhagic ones and 10 with compressive processes. Among 89 neurological complications 64.5% were peri-operative (occurring within the 30 days following the procedure) and 35.5% were delayed after one month. Conclusions Overall, neurological complications after FD implantation were overrepresented by cerebrovascular ischemic events occurring during the peri-operative period, but also in a delayed manner after one year. Long-term follow-up is relevant after aneurysm intervention using FD.