This single-center review included all patients who had endovascular interventions from September 2013 to August 2015. Complication types were analyzed, and a descriptive analysis was undertaken to calculate the incidence of complications overall and in each category.
Two hundred and seventy-five endovascular interventions were performed in 245 patients (65% female; mean age, 55 years). Forty complications occurred in 39 patients (15%), most commonly during treatment of intracranial aneurysms (24/40). Mechanical complications (eg, device deployment, catheter, or closure device failure) occurred in 8/40, technical complications (eg, failure to deploy flow diverter, unintended embolization, air emboli, retroperitoneal hemorrhage, dissection) in 11/40, judgment errors (eg, patient or equipment selection) in 9/40, and critical events (eg, groin hematoma, hemorrhagic or thromboembolic complications) in 12/40 patients. Only 12/40 complications (30%) resulted in new neurologic deficits, vessel injury requiring surgery, or blood transfusion.
We propose an endovascular-specific classification system of complications with 4 categories: mechanical, technical, judgment errors, and critical events. This system provides a framework for future studies and quality control in endovascular neurosurgery.