Stenting the carotid artery from radial access using a Simmons guide catheter

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is a procedure for stroke prevention, usually done from femoral artery access. Reports of CAS using radial artery access have adopted techniques similar to those used for transfemoral CAS. Initial experience with a simpler and lower profile technique for transradial carotid stenting is described here.

Of 55 consecutive elective CAS cases with standard (not bovine) arch anatomy performed during a 15 month time period by the same operator, 20 were selected for transradial treatment using a 6 F Simmons 2 guide catheter. This was a retrospective analysis of those initial 20 patients compared with the 35 patients treated with elective transfemoral CAS. The CAS database was reviewed for clinical indications, technique, procedure and fluoroscopy times, and clinical outcomes.

All procedures were technically successful (no crossovers). No patient had a decline in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score or modified Rankin Scale score within 30 days. Mean (95% CI) procedural times for transradial CAS were slightly higher than transfemoral CAS (29.4 (26.0 to 32.7) vs 23.8 (21.2 to 26.4) min, p=0.0098). Mean (95% CI) fluoroscopy times were also higher for transradial CAS compared with transfemoral CAS (9.6 (8.0 to 11.2) vs 6.4 (5.4 to 7.4), p=0.0006). One patient developed a radial artery pseudoaneurysm which required elective surgical repair.

Transradial carotid stenting using the described lower profile technique provides another effective option in the array of surgical procedures for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis. Relative procedural and fluoroscopy times may initially be longer compared with transfemoral carotid stenting for experienced CAS operators, although absolute differences are small.