Primary balloon angioplasty for chronic occlusion of intracranial internal carotid artery: A case report

Chronic occlusion of large intracranial arteries is the main cause of ischemic stroke in China. Patients with symptomatic intracranial artery occlusion and hemodynamic impairment are at high risk of recurrent stroke. Chronic occlusion of the intracranial segment of the internal carotid artery is a common type of intracranial artery occlusion. Medical management is regarded as the standard treatment for this disease. With the development of endovascular treatment, some patients with chronic cerebral artery occlusion have achieved satisfactory results with endovascular therapy. We reported a patient with symptomatic chronic occlusion of the ophthalmic segment of the internal carotid artery. Simple balloon angioplasty was performed, and the occluded ophthalmic segment of the internal carotid artery was successfully recanalized without perioperative complications. At 4 months follow-up, the internal carotid artery remained patent and perfusion of the right cerebral hemisphere improved dramatically. In addition, we briefly reviewed the relevant literature.