title: Endovascular therapy of acute ischaemic stroke by interventional cardiologists: single-centre experience from Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We report our single-centre experience with the Solitaire AB self-expanding retrievable stent system in patients with acute ischaemic stroke.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Demographic, clinical, and angiographic findings of thirty-eight consecutive patients with acute ischaemic stroke who underwent mechanical thrombectomy were evaluated retrospectively. The mean initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 17.8±4.6. Nearly half of the patients had a middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion (45%). Both internal carotid artery and MCA occlusions were detected in five patients. Successful revascularisation (Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction [TICI] 2b and 3) was achieved in 34 of 38 (89%) patients; a TICI 3 state was observed in 24 (63%) patients. Almost three quarters of the patients (74.3%) improved by >5 points on the NIHSS at discharge, and 57.9% showed a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≤2 at 90 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This single-centre experience with mechanical thrombectomy devices demonstrated that the procedure could be performed safely with high success rates by experienced interventional cardiologists in suitably equipped cathlabs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Foundation Bezmialem University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Goktekin
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tasal
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uyarel
authors.forename: Mehmet Akif
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Vatankulu
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sonmez
authors.forename: Seref
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kul
authors.forename: Nuray
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ay
authors.forename: Hatice
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamac
authors.forename: Ozge
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Altintas
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karadeli
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kolukisa
authors.forename: Ayse
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aralasmak
authors.forename: Talip
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asil
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000628:therapy*; D002309:Cardiology; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061185:Mechanical Thrombolysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D015607:Stents; D020521:Stroke / Q000628:therapy*; D017131:Thrombectomy / Q000379:methods*