title: Angioplasty and stenting in the posterior cerebral circulation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report initial experience with intracranial vertebral artery (VA) and basilar artery (BA) percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stenting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven patients (10 men; mean age 66 years, range 56-75) with intracranial 14 VA and 3 BA stenoses were managed from December 1997 through November 1999. All patients presented with vertebrobasilar ischemia (VBI) despite antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy. Clinical presentations included visual disturbance (n = 8), dysarthria/dysphasia (n = 5), and vertigo (n = 5).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five patients underwent PTA only of 7 lesions with a mean preprocedural stenosis of 80% (range 50%-90%) that was reduced to 54% (range 30%-70%) after dilation. Six patients received 9 stents, 2 for VA dissections, 3 for tandem lesions, and 1 for a BA lesion. There were no embolic strokes. Patients were followed by clinical evaluation and personal or telephone interviews. Over a mean 18-month follow-up (range 12-35), 8 (73%) patients remained asymptomatic, while 3 (27%) had permanent deficits, 2 related to the procedure and 1 owing to distal disease
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intracranial VA or BA angioplasty and stenting alleviated symptoms in patients with vertebrobasilar ischemia despite best medical management and may prevent stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, NSW, Australia. msbarakate@hotmail.com
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Barakate
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Snook
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sorby
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pik
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon / Q000379:methods*; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D015607:Stents; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014715:Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*