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. CONCLUSION: Stent-assisted angioplasty effectively treats atherosclerotic intracranial stenosis lesions. Long-term follow-up and further clinical/technical research are still needed.