[Stent-assisted angioplasty in treatment of symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the indications, safety and effectiveness of intracranial deployment of stents in treatment of systematic intracranial artery stenosis.


METHODS
Stent-assisted angioplasty was performed upon 7 consecutive patients with symptoms of intracranial artery stenosis unresponsive to anticoagulant therapy and antiplatelet therapy. The lesions involved the middle cerebral artery in 3 cases, distal end of internal carotid artery in one case, basilar artery in one case, and intracranial section of vertebral artery in 2 cases. Short-term clinical and angiographic data were obtained.


RESULTS
Symptoms of procedure-related intracranial hemorrhage and intracranial haematoma developed later were found in one patient. Emergency craniotomy was performed 5 hours after the stenosis-assisted angioplasty. The remaining patients experienced alleviation of symptoms without transient ischemic attack and apoplexy during the short-term follow-up. Angiography showed that the stenosis degree reduced from 83% to 5%. 0 - 3 months of follow-up by transcranial Doppler showed good patency of stented lesions.


CONCLUSIONS
Stent-assisted angioplasty effectively treats atherosclerotic intracranial stenosis lesions. Long-term follow-up and further clinical/technical research are still needed.
Center of Intervention, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
Zhongrong
Z
Miao
Feng
F
Ling
Shenmao
S
Li
Moli
M
Wang
Yang
Y
Hua
Dongmei
D
Guo
Yan
Y
Dong
Qingbin
Q
Song
D000328:Adult; D017130:Angioplasty / Q000379:methods*; D002539:Cerebral Arterial Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome