Objective: The carotid cave is a unique intradural region located along the medial aspect of the internal carotid artery. Small carotid cave aneurysms confined within this space are bound by the carotid sulcus of the sphenoid bone and are thought to have a low risk of rupture or growth. However, there is a lack of data on the natural history of this subset of aneurysms.
Methods: The authors present a retrospective case series of 290 small (≤ 4 mm) carotid cave aneurysms evaluated and managed at their institution between January 2000 and June 2017.
Results: No patient presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage attributable to a carotid cave aneurysm, and there were no instances of aneurysm rupture or growth during 911.0 aneurysm-years of clinical follow-up or 726.3 aneurysm-years of imaging follow-up, respectively.
Conclusions: This series demonstrates the benign nature of small carotid cave aneurysms.
Keywords: aneurysm; carotid cave; natural history; paraclinoid; vascular disorders.