2022 Volume 50 Issue 6 Pages 461-466
Objective: We investigated the hypotheses that, when carotid artery stenting (CAS) is performed for soft plaques, the balloon used for predilatation should be close to the normal blood vessel diameter, and, furthermore, plaque scattering can be prevented by sufficiently aspirating blood before releasing protection. We report a representative case of 12 consecutive patients with soft plaques who underwent CAS using this method.
Methods: CAS was performed in 12 consecutive patients who showed a high degree of preoperative black blood (BB) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Balloon protection was close to the diameter of normal blood vessels and was placed in the distal internal carotid artery or the common carotid artery. A closed-cell stent was the first choice.
Results: One of the 12 patients had cerebral infarction in a region unrelated to the treated vessel. Eleven patients showed no new neurological deficits after CAS. One patient had plaque protrusion during surgery; therefore, a closed cell stent was added, and no postoperative complications were noted.
Conclusion: Our method can be safely used for soft plaques.
