Successful carotid artery stenting may correct ipsilateral hemisphere hypoperfusion and improve neurocognitive function in patients with chronic internal carotid artery occlusion (ICAO). Its effect on long-term outcomes, however, has never been studied. From May 2004 to April 2015, endovascular recanalization for chronic ICAO was attempted in 118 consecutive patients (119 lesions; 98 men; 67 ± 10 years old) with either recurrent neurologic events or objectively impaired ipsilateral hemisphere perfusion. Technical success in recanalization was achieved in 70 lesions (59%, 70/119). 3-months cumulative any stroke or death rate was 5% (6/119; 4 in recanalized group, 2 in failure group), including 2 periprocedural ischemic stroke, 2 intracranial hemorrhage, and 2 subarachnoid hemorrhage. In recanalized patients without periprocedural complication, 1-year reocclusion rate was 15% (10/65). Up to 7 years after procedure, cumulative events of transient ischemic attack (TIA), or any stroke, or death were 17 in recanalized group, compared with 23 in failure group (hazard ratio 0.51, 95% confidence interval 0.27 to 0.97; p = 0.04). The difference became more significant after excluding patients with periprocedure events (hazard ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.84, p = 0.015). In conclusions, the technical success and periprocedural complication rates of endovascular recanalization for chronic ICAO were acceptable. The cumulative event rates of any stroke or death up to 7 years were more favorable in patients after successful recanalization, compared to those in patients after failed procedure.
Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.