[Angioplasty for intracranial internal carotid artery stenosis]

Percutaneous transluminal angioplastia has in recent years become an alternative to surgery and increasingly used for revascularization of the extracranial arteries in patients with cerebral ischemia. However, intracranial angioplasty is a technique which is still not widely used since it is technically more difficult and until now endoprotheses (stents) have not been available specifically designed for intracranial territory.

A 73 year old patient with extensive extracranial and intracranial atheromatous lesions, multiple vascular risk factors and cardiac ischemia which contraindicated surgical treatment which was treated consecutively by angioplasty and angioplasty with implantation of stents in both carotid bifurcations. Subsequently, he was treated by angioplasty for a stenosing lesion of 90% of the right carotid siphon with clinical and hemodynamic repercussions. Following the procedure, which was well-tolerated by the patient, there was clinical and angiographic improvement and return to normal of the hemodynamic parameters measured by transcranial Doppler.

Angioplasty is a technique which may be used in intracranial stenosing atheromatous lesions. Even without perfect angiographic correction, adequate blood flow is established in the hemodynamically affected lesions. As far as we know this is the first case of intracranial angioplasty of a lesion of the carotid siphon reported in Spain.