Endovascular revascularization of chronically occluded vertebral artery: single-center experience.

Abstract

Introduction Chronic vertebral basilar artery occlusion is one of the most common causes of ischemic stroke, which accounts for roughly 20% of all cases. However, the evidence for the precise clinical effect in treatment of the initial segment of chronic vertebral basilar artery occlusion is not sufficient. Aim To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of endovascular therapy in the initial segment of chronic vertebral basilar artery occlusion. Material and methods This is a retrospective study based on data obtained from Lishui Hospital of Zhejiang University. We identified patients who underwent treatment for initial segment occlusion of the vertebral basilar artery from September 2014 to September 2018. Results Among a total of twenty-two subjects, 77.27% of them were men and the median age was 61 years old. The primary medical history of these patients included hypertension (15, 68.18%), hyperlipidemia (13, 59.09%), diabetes mellitus (11, 50.00%), and coronary artery disease (6, 27.27%). About 54.54% of the patients were current smokers. Successful recanalization was achieved in 86.36% of patients. Five cases of balloon dilatation were recanalized and fourteen cases were treated by balloon dilation combined with stent implantation. During the follow-up period, there were no recurrent cerebral ischemic events, including transient ischemic attack or stroke. Six (27.27%) arteries were found to exhibit angiographic re-stenosis. Conclusions The clinical effect of balloon dilatation or balloon dilatation combined with stenting in the treatment of chronic vertebral basilar artery occlusion in the beginning segment was feasible and safe.

Time correlation of success recanalization for endovascular recanalization of medically refractory non-acute intracranial arterial occlusions

“…This study shows that interventional recanalization therapy is feasible and effective for screened sNAA-ICAO patients. The recanalization rate of this study technique reached 73.91%, which is an acceptable range compared with recanalization rates of 53.1%-95.5% in published articles in the past 3 years (16)(17)(18)(19)(20); the Ic-VA occlusion recanalization rate was 63.33%, which was the lowest. In addition, this study retrospectively analyzed the patient data from 2013 to 2021.…”