Revascularization procedure mainly by suction thrombectomy for acute cervical carotid occlusion

In many cases, the prognosis for acute cervical carotid artery occlusion is poor. However, a standard treatment for the acute stage is not yet established. We report here the results of eight consecutive patients (mean age 71.5 years old) in which revascularization mainly by suction thrombectomy was performed under proximal protection during the acute phase. The occlusion sites were the intracranial internal carotid artery in five patients, tandem lesions of the internal carotid origin and intracranial vessel in two patients, and the common carotid artery in one patient. In addition, the subjects who received the treatment had an extent of infarction in MRI/DWI that was 1/3 or less of the internal carotid artery territory. The mean time from the onset to treatment commencement was 7.25 hours (2-28 hours). For the endovascular treatment, a guiding catheter with a balloon was used for proximal protection of the carotid artery. Revascularization was performed mainly by suction thrombectomy, and if a stenosed lesion was observed, PTA/stenting was added. Local fibrinolysis was not performed in combination with the above procedure. The treatment results were complete recanalization in three patients and partial recanalization in three patients. However, recanalization was not achieved in two patients. No hyperfusion syndrome or hemorrhagic infarction was observed postoperatively. All four patients in whom thrombi were successfully aspirated had occlusions proximal to the ophthalmic artery branch. In three of these four patients, complete recanalization was achieved. The revascularization procedure using suction thrombectomy under proximal protection was considered effective against the acute cervical carotid occlusions, in particular, those proximal to the ophthalmic artery branch.