Transcatheter closure of coronary artery fistula using Guglielmi detachable coil

Background Coronary artery fistula （CAF） is a rare anomaly.Transcatheter CAF closure has been introduced using various materials,but only few data are available on the Guglielmi detachable coil （GDC）.The advantage of using GDC for transcatheter CAF closure is more controllable,therefore much safer when compared to other coils.This report is about our experience in transcatheter closure of CAF using fibered GDC in our hospital.Methods ＆ Results From 2002 to 2007,there were 10 patients with CAFs （age range：28 to 56 year-old,7 males） who underwent transcatheter CAF closure.There were a total of 19 CAFs which originated from right coronary （n =5）,left circumflex （n =3）,left anterior descending artery （n =10） and left main trunk （n =1）.Median number of coil deployment for each fistula was 3 （range：1 to 6）.The pulmonary artery was the most common site of the distal communication of CAFs （n =14）,followed by right atrium （n =3）,left atrium （n =1） and left ventricle （n =1）.Immediate coronary angiography after GDC deployment revealed no residual shunt in 12 （63.2％） CAFs,significant reduction of the flow in 5 （26.3％）,while 2 （10.5％） could not be closed due to small size.Nine （90％） patients underwent a repeated angiography within 3 to 8 months.Among 12 CAFs that were occluded immediately post-deployment,there were 2 CAFs with insignificant residual flow.Among 6 CAFs with significantly decreased flow immediately post-deployment,2 were occluded totally in the follow-up angiography.In total,12 （70.5％） CAFs were occluded completely and 5 （29.5％） CAFs still had insignificant residual flow,which did not need any additional coil deployment.During a mean follow up of 4.3 ± 0.7 year,all patients remained symptom and complication free.Conclusions The fibered GDC is a safe and effective method for percutaneous closure of the CAFs.

INITIAL COMPARISON OF INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSM EMBOLIZATION WITH MECHANICAL DETACHABLE SPIRALS AND WITH GUGLIELMI DETACHABLE COILS

Objective. To compare the embolization effects of intracranial aneurysms with mechanical detachable spirals (MDS) and with Guglielmi detachable coils (GDC).Methods. One hundred and twenty cases with 125 intracranial aneurysms were embolized in Beijing Hospital from March 1995 to July 1999. Sixty - six aneurysms in 64 cases were embolized with MDS, 51 in 48 with GDC, and 8 in 8 with both MDS and GDC. Clinical data including sex, age, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), Hunt & Hess grading, diameter and neck width of aneurysms, number and length of coils used per aneurysm, occlusive ratio, and complications were compared between MDS and GDC groups.Results. MDS and GDC groups were comparable (t-test or x2 -test, all P value > 0. 10) in terms of age, sex, diameter of aneurysms [ (8. 46 ± 3. 42) mm vs. (7. 38 ± 3. 45) mm], neck width [ (3. 49 ± 1. 50) mm vs. (3. 26 ± 1. 52) mm], coils number[ (4. 65 ± 3. 01) vs. (4. 24 ± 2. 65) ] and their length[ (460. 2 ± 398. 5) mm vs. (422. 9 ±387. 1) mm] used per aneurysm, occlusive ratio in aneurysms embolized ≥80% [ (95. 00% ± 6. 32% ) vs. (94. 19% ± 7. 63% ) ], mortality and permanent complications (7. 8% vs. 4. 2% ).Conclusions. MDS and GDC are all materials for embolization of intracranial aneurysms. MDS is less expensive, but more difficult to control and of propensity to complications while GDC is more compliant, easier to be used, safer, and have many alternative types for use as well as more extensive indications.