[Advances in surgical treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease]

Restoration of cerebral blood flow is particularly important for the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. It is notable that surgical approaches play a unique role in treating this devastating disease. Among them, mechanical thrombectomy facilitates rapid and effective recanalization of occluded intracranial large vessels causing ischemic stroke, which contributes to improvement of cerebral perfusion in the ischemic penumbra; decompressive craniectomy is an important therapeutic option for acute massive cerebral infarction, and the timing of surgery determines the final clinical outcomes; for carotid endarterectomy in carotid-artery stenosis, individualized surgical plan is important for the safety and effectiveness of the operation; in the surgical revascularization of Moyamoya disease, precise evaluation of clinical and radiological characteristics, optimal surgical strategies and accuracy of intraoperative judgment will yield maximal therapeutic effects; and hybrid surgery is feasible for the therapy of complex ischemic cerebrovascular diseases, such as extracranial/intracranial arteries tandem stenosis and symptomatic chronic total occlusion of carotid artery. This paper reviews recent technical and clinical advances in the surgical treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.