Temporary Clipping in Intracranial Aneurysm Surgery

The intra-operative rupture of intracranial aneurysms (IA) occurs in 5–30% of cases as reported in the literature. This event is frequently associated with an increase in mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic importance of temporary clipping in intracranial aneurysm surgery. A series of 304 cases of IA treated surgically were selected by excluding giant or Hunt-Hess grade >3 aneurysms. Two groups of patients were compared: one of 157 cases that had temporary clipping (TC) during surgery and the other of 147 patients who did not have TC.The neuroprotective measures used were the infusion of Thiopental and maintenance of adequate blood pressure by use of Bitartrate Metaraminol and Ephedrine. The surgical complications, chiefly intra-operative rupture of the sac and consequences of malpositioning the clip with associated clinical complications, were considered. The two groups were compared using χ2 that showed a statistically significant reduction of the surgical compl...