We report 6 cases with symptomatic intracranial vertebral artery stenosis treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA).
Five of 6 cases had no contralateral vertebral artery (VA) and only 1 had hypoplastic contralateral VA. PTA was urgently performed in 3 cases presenting with progressive infarction. We used a balloon-expandable coronary stent against vertebral artery dissection subsequently after PTA in 1 case. No complications occurred during the procedure in any of the cases. Five cases were discharged from our hospital and could live independently. In 1 case in which PTA was urgently performed, disturbance of consciousness and tetraparesis remained.
The presence of a high-grade vertebral artery stenosis and a contralateral vertebral artery hypoplasia or occlusion can induce a progressive infarction in the early stage, so immediate revascularization should be considered in these cases.
