Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke in Patients with Target and Unrelated Vessel AVMs and AVFs: A Case Series

BACKGROUND: Advances in acute and long-term post-stroke care have resulted in improved survival and functional outcomes for patients who have suffered large vessel ischemic strokes. For years, tissue plasminogen activator was the mainstay of treatment for acute stroke. Its use was previously limited to patients without known comorbid intracranial vascular pathology because of concern for bleeding risk. More recently, however, the use of tissue plasminogen activator in select patients with vascular anomalies has increased and is now largely thought to be safe. With the safety and efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy now proven for large vessel occlusions (LVOs), similar investigation is needed to assess procedural safety in patients with concomitant arteriovenous (AV) malformations or fistulae. METHODS: We reviewed patients treated for LVOs at our institution and those of our collaborators and identified 6 patients who were treated for LVO with either known or incidentally identified concomitant AV malformations or dural AV fistulae. RESULTS: We present a case series of 6 patients with nonaneurysmal intracranial vascular lesions who underwent mechanical thrombectomy for LVO without complications related to these lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by small size, our series adds to the literature evidence that mechanical thrombectomy for LVO can safely be performed with concomitant dural AV fistulae and AV malformations.