Intracranial large artery embolism due to carotid thrombosis caused by a neck massager:A case report

BACKGROUND There are few reported cases of intracranial large artery embolism due to carotid thrombosis caused by a neck massager.Herein we report such a case.CASE SUMMARY A 49-year-old woman presented with left limb weakness and dysarthria after a history of neck massage for 1 mo.Neurological examination showed left central facial paralysis and left hemiparesis with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 12.Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed restricted diffusion on diffusion-weighted imaging in the right parietal and temporal lobes.Computed tomography angiography(CTA)indicated M3 segment embolism of the right middle cerebral artery.Neck CTA revealed thrombosis of the bilateral common carotid arteries.Carotid ultrasound showed thrombosis in the bilateral common carotid arteries(approximately 2 cm below the proximal end of the carotid sinus),and contrast-enhanced ultrasound did not suggest enhancement.No hypertension,diabetes,heart disease,vasculitis,or thrombophilia was found after admission.After 1 wk of treatment with aspirin 200 mg and atorvastatin 40 mg,a carotid ultrasound reexamination showed that the thrombosis had significantly reduced.CONCLUSION Neck massager may cause carotid artery thrombosis.

Subintimal recanalization for non-acute occlusion of intracranial vertebral artery in an emergency endovascular procedure:A case report

BACKGROUND Endovascular recanalization of non-acute intracranial artery occlusion is technically difficult,particularly when the microwire enters the subintima.Although the subintimal tracking and re-entry technique has been well established in the endovascular treatment of coronary artery occlusion,there is limited experience with its use in intracranial occlusion due to anatomical variations and a lack of dedicated devices.CASE SUMMARY A 74-year-old man was admitted to the hospital two days after experiencing acute weakness in both lower extremities,poor speech,and dizziness.After admission,imaging revealed acute ischemic stroke and non-acute occlusion of bilateral intracranial vertebral arteries(ICVAs).On the fourth day of admission,the patient's condition deteriorated and an emergency endovascular recanalization of the left ICVA was performed.During this procedure,a microwire was advanced in the subintima of the vessel wall and successfully reentered the distal true lumen.Two stents were implanted in the subintima.The patient's Modified Rankin Scale was 1 at three months postoperatively.CONCLUSION We present a technical case of subintimal recanalization for non-acute ICVA occlusion in an emergency endovascular procedure.However,we emphasize the necessity for caution when applying the subintimal tracking approach in intracranial occlusion due to the significant dangers involved.

CEREBRAL ARTERY RECONSTRUCTION IN THE TREATMENT OF LARGE AND GIANT INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSMS

From 1978 to 1988, 14 giant intracranial aneurysms(more than 2.4 cm in diameter) and one large aneurysm (1.5cm in diameter) were treated by extracranial/intracranial(EC/IC) bypass or cerebral artery reconstruction. Of theaneurysms, 10 were located at the intracavernous carotid ar-tery (CCA). One of the 10 anourysms was posttraumatic andlocated at both the carotid-ophthalmic artery segment and thebifurcation of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Three wereseen at the middle cerebral artery (MCA) trunk.Theaneurysms were demonstrated by angiography and CTscanning. They were treated with trapping of the aneurysm andsuperficial temporal artery (STA)/middle cerebral artery(STA-MCA) bypass with/without a graft (6 cases), cervicalICA ligation and STA-MCA bypass with / without a graft (6)aneurysm excision with an end-to-end anastomosis of theMCA and a STA-MCA bypass with a graft (1), proximal