Abstract
BACKGROUND: Giant aneurysms of the intracranial vertebral artery are very rare cerebrovascular lesions. Due to the rarity of these aneurysms, we know little about them. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of the English literature by searching the PubMed database. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) the full text was available and (b) complete clinical data were available. RESULTS: A total of 45 articles were identified, containing 53 patients (53 aneurysms). The patients were aged from 5 to 77 years (48.8 ± 20.8 years). Four patients receiving conservative treatment died. The remaining 49 patients were divided into the aneurysm removal group (n = 17) and the aneurysm reserve group (n = 32). The outcomes of the 49 treated cases could be obtained in 45 cases, 31 of which (68.9%, 31/45) had a Glasgow outcome scale score of 4-5. CONCLUSIONS: It is still difficult to treat intracranial giant vertebral artery aneurysms, regardless of the treatment selected. Because of the malignant natural history, aggressive treatment is still advocated.