Willis covered stent treatment for internal carotid artery pseudoaneurysm: A meta-analysis of efficacy and safety.

Background: Pseudoaneurysm (PSA) of internal carotid artery is a rare but severe cerebrovascular disease and difficult to repair surgically. A novel medical device called Willis covered stent (WCS) has been created especially for the treatment of complex cerebrovascular diseases. However, the efficacy and safety of WCS therapy for PSA are still debatable. Additional substantial proof is needed. Methods: To find research pertaining to WCS treatment for PSA, a systematic review of literature was conducted in the Medline, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, and CBM databases. The results comprising the data of intraoperative situation, postoperative situation, and follow-up were then included in a meta-analysis. Results: The criteria were met by 11 noncomparative studies with 152 patients and 157 PSAs. Technical success rate was nearly 100 % (>0.999 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 0.958, 1.000)), complete occlusion rate was 97.8 % (95 % CI, 0.932, 1.000), and side branch occlusion rate was 0.5 % (95 % CI, 0.001, 0.045). The rates of acute in-stent thrombosis (<0.001 (95 % CI, 0.000, 0.013)) and hemorrhage (<0.001 (95 % CI, 0.000, 0.005)) were both less than 0.1 %. In postoperative situation, surgery-related mortality rate was less than 0.1 % (<0.001 (95 % CI, 0.000, 0.005)). The rates of recurrence (<0.001 (95 % CI, 0.000, 0.002)) and parent artery stenosis (<0.001 (95 % CI, 0.000, 0.008)) were both less than 0.1 %, while late in-stent stenosis occurred in 1.3 % (95 % CI, 0.000, 0.053) of patients. In the end, 98.5 % (95 % CI, 0.943, 1.000) of patients had a good outcome. Conclusion: The application of WCS could be effective and safe for PSAs. The findings of this study could serve as a reference for upcoming clinical trials.