Interv Neuroradiol
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This study evaluated: 1) the effect of recanalization on changing clinical outcome, 2) the relationship between dose of Urokinase (UK) and incidence of recanalization and intracranial haemorrhage, and 3) the efficacy and feasibility of balloon disruption (BD) in the treatment of acute cerebral embolism. Sixty-one patients with acute embolism of the major cerebral arteries treated by endovascular approaches over the past nine years were retrospectively evaluated. Among them, 30 cases were treated by BD alone or in conjunction with intra- arterial fibrinolysis in the last five years. ⋯ Concerning morbidity and mortality of BD, there was one death caused by dissection of the M2 portion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) that happened during BD on a distally migrated embolus. Although no conclusions can be drawn from our study, a favorable outcome for acute embolism of the major cerebral arteries is expected by attaining good recanalization. In addition, BD is an effective technique that can achieve high-grade recanalization alone, or reducing the dose of fibrinolytic agent.