Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:The treatment of selected wide-neck and fusiform posterior circulation aneurysms is challenging for clipping as well as for endovascular route. OBJECTIVE:To describe an endovascular approach for vertebral artery aneurysm treatment using transradial access (TRA) instead of the conventional transfemoral access. METHODS:We collected cases from two institutions in which TRA was used for posterior circulation Pipeline Embolization Device (Medtronic, Dublin, Ireland) deployment. RESULTS:A total of four patients were treated. TRA was useful in the setting of extreme vessel tortuosity. We utilized 5F Terumo Glidesheath (Terumo Medical, Somerset, New Jersey), intermediate catheter, and a 027 microcatheter for Pipeline deployment. TRA was not associated with any access or deployment difficulties. CONCLUSIONS:Early experience suggests that TRA for Pipeline Embolization Device placement for posterior circulation aneurysm is a safe and efficient alternative to standard transfemoral access. While this approach was initially applied to patients with vascular anatomy that may not allow for safe femoral access or navigation, experience so far argues for considering a radial approach towards some posterior circulation aneurysm treatment.

Facial transplant (FT) is a viable option for patients with severe craniomaxillofacial deformities. Transplant imaging requires coordination between radiologists and surgeons and an understanding of the merits and limitations of imaging modalities. Digital subtraction angiography and CT angiography are critical to mapping vascular anatomy, while volume-rendered CT allows evaluation of osseous defects and landmarks used for surgical cutting guides. This article highlights the components of successful FT imaging at two institutions and in two index cases. A deliberate stepwise approach to performance and interpretation of preoperative FT imaging, which consists of the modalities and protocols described here, is essential to seamless integration of the multidisciplinary FT team. ^©RSNA, 2019 See discussion on this article by Lincoln .

Spinal dural fistulas (SDAVFs) occasionally arise from the same segmental artery as the radiculomedullary branch to the anterior spinal artery. In such cases, selective fistula embolization that does not endanger the anterior spinal artery is not possible, and surgical fistula disconnection is recommended. We present an exceptional case in which rational embolization strategy of SDAVF was feasible because of separate origins from a common segmental artery pedicle of the ventral radiculomedullary artery and the dorsal radicular artery branch supplying the fistula.

Anatomical vessel obstacles such as an intracranial stenosis in stroke are challenging and may lead to delayed clot access for thrombectomy. We describe a simple and effective technique to overcome the step-off between the intermediate catheter and an intracranial vessel stenosis during thrombectomy. The patient presented with acute embolic left middle cerebral artery occlusion and a favorable penumbral pattern. Clot access was made challenging by focal stenosis in the ipsilateral cavernous segment. The balloon-assisted tracking technique was effective in traversing the step-off to enable TICI 3 aspiration thrombectomy. This simple and effective technique should be kept in mind during stroke procedures where a proximal stenotic obstacle complicates access to the site of occlusion.

OBJECTIVEA systematic analysis on the utility of prophylactic antibiotics for neuroendovascular procedures has not been performed. At the authors' institution there is a unique setup to address this question, with some attending physicians using prophylactic antibiotics (cefazolin or vancomycin) for all of their neurointerventions while others generally do not.METHODSThe authors performed a retrospective review of the last 549 neurointerventional procedures in 484 patients at Tisch Hospital, NYU Langone Medical Center. Clinical and radiological data were collected for analysis, including presence of prophylactic antibiotic use, local or systemic infection, infection laboratory values, and treatment. Overall, 306 aneurysms, 117 arteriovenous malformations/arteriovenous fistulas, 86 tumors, and 40 vessel stenosis/dissections were treated with coiling (n = 109), Pipeline embolization device (n = 197), embolization (n = 203), or stenting (n = 40).RESULTSAntibiotic prophylaxis was used in 265 of 549 cases (48%). There was no significant difference between patients with or without antibiotic prophylaxis in sex (p = 0.48), presence of multiple interventions (p = 0.67), diseases treated (p = 0.11), or intervention device placed (p = 0.55). The mean age of patients in the antibiotic prophylaxis group (53.4 years) was significantly lower than that of the patients without prophylaxis (57.1 years; p = 0.014). Two mild local groin infections (0.36%) and no systemic infections (0%) were identified in this cohort, with one case in each group (1/265 [0.38%] vs 1/284 [0.35%]). Both patients recovered completely with local drainage (n = 1) and oral antibiotic treatment (n = 1).CONCLUSIONSThe risk of infection associated with endovascular neurointerventions with or without prophylactic antibiotic use was very low in this cohort. The data suggest that the routine use of antibiotic prophylaxis seems unnecessary and that to prevent antibiotic resistance and reduce costs antibiotic prophylaxis should be reserved for selected patients deemed to be at increased infection risk.

Spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD) is a major cause of stroke in young adults. Multiple sCAD is a rarer, more poorly understood presentation of sCAD that has been increasingly attributed to cervical trauma such as spinal manipulation or genetic polymorphisms in extracellular matrix components. The authors present the case of a 49-year-old, otherwise healthy woman, who over the course of 2 weeks developed progressive, hemodynamically significant, bilateral internal carotid artery and vertebral artery dissections. Collateral response involved extensive external carotid artery-internal carotid artery anastomoses via the ophthalmic artery, which were instrumental in maintaining perfusion because circle of Willis and leptomeningeal anastomotic responses were hampered by the dissection burden in the corresponding collateral vessels. Endovascular intervention by placement of Pipeline embolization devices and Atlas stents in bilateral internal carotid arteries was successfully performed. No syndromic or systemic etiology was discovered during a thorough workup.

Anatomical vessel obstacles such as an intracranial stenosis in stroke are challenging and may lead to delayed clot access for thrombectomy. We describe a simple and effective technique to overcome the step-off between the intermediate catheter and an intracranial vessel stenosis during thrombectomy. The patient presented with acute embolic left middle cerebral artery occlusion and a favorable penumbral pattern. Clot access was made challenging by focal stenosis in the ipsilateral cavernous segment. The balloon-assisted tracking technique was effective in traversing the step-off to enable TICI 3 aspiration thrombectomy. This simple and effective technique should be kept in mind during stroke procedures where a proximal stenotic obstacle complicates access to the site of occlusion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Altered biomechanics or bone fragility or both contribute to spine instrumentation failure. Although revision surgery is frequently required, minimally invasive alternatives may be feasible. We report the largest to-date series of percutaneous fluoroscopically guided vertebral cement augmentation procedures to address feasibility, safety, results and a variety of spinal instrumentation failure conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:A consecutive series of 31 fluoroscopically guided vertebral augmentation procedures in 29 patients were performed to address screw loosening (42 screws), cage subsidence (7 cages), and fracture within (12 cases) or adjacent to (11 cases) the instrumented segment. Instrumentation failure was deemed clinically relevant when resulting in pain or jeopardizing spinal biomechanical stability. The main study end point was the rate of revision surgery avoidance; feasibility and safety were assessed by prospective recording of periprocedural technical and clinical complications; and clinical effect was measured at 1 month with the Patient Global Impression of Change score. RESULTS:All except 1 procedure was technically feasible. No periprocedural complications occurred. Clinical and radiologic follow-up was available in 28 patients (median, 16 months) and 30 procedures. Revision surgery was avoided in 23/28 (82%) patients, and a global clinical benefit (Patient Global Impression of Change, 5-7) was reported in 26/30 (87%) cases at 1-month follow-up, while no substantial change (Patient Global Impression of Change, 4) was reported in 3/30 (10%), and worsening status (Patient Global Impression of Change, 3), in 1/30 (3%). CONCLUSIONS:Our experience supports the feasibility of percutaneous vertebral augmentation in the treatment of several clinically relevant spinal instrumentation failure conditions, with excellent safety and efficacy profiles, both in avoidance of revision surgery and for pain palliation.

Background/UNASSIGNED:Variations in aortic arch anatomy have been extensively described from multiple perspectives including gross anatomy, embryology, associated cardiac and other anomalies, early life presentation, and cross-sectional diagnosis. There is however a paucity of literature with an emphasis on safe and timely catheterization, particularly when the variants are found during emergent or other catheter angiographic procedures without benefit of prior cross-sectional vascular imaging. The purpose of this review is to try to fill this gap. Methods/UNASSIGNED:A review of past 1,000 diagnostic and therapeutic catheterizations was performed to identify arch variants, which are presented in order of frequency encountered at our institutions. Results/UNASSIGNED:The variants are presented as illustrations and catheter angiographic images, with emphasis on safe and efficient intraprocedural diagnosis and catheterization. Conclusion/UNASSIGNED:Familiarity with more and less common arch variants, along with low threshold for performance of pigtail aortic arch angiography and comfort in use of general purpose and recurved catheters, will ensure success in the vast majority of encountered variations.