Transradial Approach for Mechanical Thrombectomy of Posterior Circulation Stroke

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Objective: We report the mechanical thrombectomy (MT) of posterior circulation large vessel occlusion (pc-LVO) in which the transradial approach (TRA) was selected as an initial approach route to reduce the duration of treatment.

Case Presentation: We performed MT using the TRA for four patients with pc-LVO between November 2015 and March 2017. The TRA was used as an initial approach route in patients in whom preoperative MRI showed that the right vertebral artery (VA) was predominant. In all patients, the procedure could be accomplished without changing the approach route. Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) 2b or better recanalization was achieved in all patients (100%), and TICI 3 recanalization in three patients (75%). Mean time from radial artery puncture to initial intracranial angiography and to the effective recanalization was 7.3 ± 1.5 and 28.8 ± 6.2 minutes, respectively. There was no complication at the site of puncture.

Conclusion: Recanalization was promptly and effectively achieved by the MT of pc-LVO using the TRA. The results suggest that TRA can be utilized as an initial access route in patients in whom an approach to the right VA is possible.