Glue and Ethanol Mixture for Aneurysm Endovascular Treatment: Animal Lab Study, Imaging, and Histopathological Findings

Background: This study aims to investigate the degree of penetration, permanence of occlusion, and vascular changes induced by a newly modified mixture of n-butyl cyanoacrylate (Glubran 2^®), ethanol, and Lipidol^® (GEL) in the endovascular treatment of experimental aneurysms induced in swine. Methods: Bilateral pouch aneurysms were created in the wall of the internal carotid artery in eighteen pigs. The sixteen aneurysms were treated with a new mixture of GEL with different component proportions. Angiograms were obtained at the time of treatment and at 1, 4, and 16 weeks after treatment. According to the scheduled experimental design, subjects were sacrificed at the time of treatment and 7, 30, and 90 days after the embolization of experimentally induced aneurysms. The internal carotid artery and aneurysms were removed en bloc and sampled for histopathologic study. Results: The mixture induced complete and stable occlusion without recanalization in all experimentally induced aneurysms throughout the study period. Histopathological studies showed focal angionecrosis and acute inflammatory reactions from 7 dpi, followed by chronic inflammation and vessel wall thickening. Conclusions: The GEL mixture may be useful in future clinical applications for the embolization of arteriovenous malformations, the control of acute bleeding, and the isolation of aneurysms due to its very short polymerization time and minimal adhesion to the microcatheter.