Local intraarterial fibrinolytic therapy for embolic stroke associated with vascular anomalies - Two case reports

Abstract

Two cases of embolic stroke associated with vascular anomalies were treated by intraarterial fibrinolytic therapy. A 78-year-old male had embolic stroke associated with fenestration of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). The embolus lodged in the terminal portion of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) and in the M2 portion of the right MCA. The fenestration was not detected before local fibrinolytic therapy, but was identified by postinterventional angiography. An 82-year-old female had a left-sided persistent primitive trigeminal artery (PPTA), and the embolus lodged in the terminal portion of the left ICA. Left internal carotid angiography also showed rich collateral circulation via the abundant leptomeningeal anastomosis. The PPTA involved the left ICA, so the anomalous anatomy had to be considered in performing local thrombolysis. However, the rich collateral circulation allowed recanalization of the occluded ICA without inducing bleeding. Dissolution of persistently adherent emboli must be performed with great care because of the possibility of such rare vascular anomalies.