MRI assessment followed by successful mechanical recanalization of a complete tandem (internal carotid/middle cerebral artery) occlusion and reversal of a 10-hour fixed deficit.
Mechanical clot extraction up to 8 hours after stroke onset is an alternative strategy for opening large vessels, especially for patients ineligible for intravenous thrombolysis. Safety beyond this therapeutic window is untested. An 81-year-old woman presented 8 hours after she developed left-sided weakness and dysarthria with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score fluctuating between 6 and 13. Neuroimaging revealed a large perfusion deficit with no diffusion abnormalities. An emergent cerebral angiogram revealed a complete internal carotid artery terminus occlusion. Successful mechanical thrombectomy was performed without complication and resulted in almost complete reversal of the patient's deficit to an NIHSS score of 1, 10 hours after stroke onset. Patients with large hypoperfused areas and minimal diffusion abnormalities on the MRI may benefit from mechanical thrombectomy beyond an 8-hour window.
PubMed Abstracts
PubMed Abstracts