Percutaneous angioplasty of the sole patent cerebral artery in two patients with Takayasu’s aortoarteritis

Abstract

We report two female patients with Takayasu’s aortoarteritis, who presented with symptoms of cerebral ischemia due to critical stenosis of the sole patent cerebral artery. Both had occlusion of both vertebral arteries and one carotid artery with critical stenosis of the other carotid artery and presented with hemiparesis contralateral to the patent but stenosed cerebral artery. They also had transient ischemic attacks attributable to the culprit vessel. In the first patient, balloon angioplasty alone was not successful, and hence, a self-expanding stent was deployed in the right common carotid artery. In the second patient, successful balloon angioplasty was performed for the left common carotid artery. Distal protection devices were not used, and neither patient experienced any periprocedural neurological event. Clinical follow-up at six months revealed no significant cerebral events.