Stenting of symptomatic stenosis of the intracranial internal carotid artery

Abstract

Percutaneous balloon angioplasty has been reported to be useful in the treatment of intracranial atherosclerotic arterial stenoses; however, arterial dissection with increased risk of stroke has limited its widespread implementation. Although vascular stenting has improved the outcome of similar procedures in the extracranial vasculature, its intracranial application has been limited by the lack of suitable stents. We report a case of successful percutaneous stenting of a symptomatic intracranial carotid artery using a second-generation, flexible, coronary stent.