Thrombectomy in patients with tandem stenoses

Excerpt

In this issue, Lockau et al. retrospectively analyze different approaches for endovascular recanalization of tandem occlusions in acute stroke [1]. Starting with stent angioplasty of the carotid occlusion as the first step (stent-first group), they reversed the order of their techniques and performed intracranial thrombectomy prior to stenting of the carotid occlusion (thrombectomy-first group, the so-called upside-down approach). They found advantages and disadvantages with both techniques; however, time of intervention was shorter for the thrombectomy-first group. A higher percentage of thrombectomy-first patients had favorable outcomes after 3 months but the difference was not statistically significant. As discussed in this paper, one of the reasons may be that the thrombectomy-first technique allows mobilization and removal of the intracranial thrombus during flow arrest, whereas the thrombus becomes more compressed due to increased perfusion pressure following stenting of the carotid artery. …