Image-based visualization of stents in mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke: Preliminary findings from a series of cases

BACKGROUNDMechanical thrombectomy is the most effective treatment for great cerebral artery embolization within a set time window. Typically, an arteriogram does not show the localization of the stent after release and whether a thrombus is captured or not. Thus, improving the visualization of a stent in interventional therapy will be helpful for clinicians.AIMTo analyze stent imaging findings to enhance clinicians' understanding of a special circumstance, wherein a Solitaire AB retrievable stent was visible during the imaging of a thrombus capture that improved the success rate of stent-based mechanical thrombectomy.METHODSThis was a retrospective study with four acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients who underwent stent-based mechanical thrombectomy.RESULTSPatient 1 was a 64-year-old man admitted after 5 h of confusion; angiography revealed basilar artery occlusion. We inserted a stent into the left posterior cerebral artery-P2 segment and visualized the expanded stent that successfully captured a thrombus. Patient 2 was a 74-year-old man admitted with confusion, which lasted approximately 3 h. Angiography revealed a left middle cerebral artery (MCA)-M1 segment occlusion. A stent was deployed in the distal M2 segment, and we could visualize the stent by capturing the thrombus. Patient 3 was a 74-year-old woman admitted after experiencing left hemiplegia for 3 h. We deployed a stent at the distal right MCA-M2 segment, and the developing stent captured a large thrombus. Patient 4 was an 82-year-old man who presented with confusion for 3 h. A developing stent was placed in the distal left MCA-M1 segment, which captured a large thrombus and several fragmented thrombi.CONCLUSIONTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of stent imaging in patients with AIS. We demonstrated the usefulness and substantial potential of stent imaging in stent-based mechanical thrombectomy for AIS.