Emergency endovascular treatment of cerebral sinus thrombosis with a rheolytic catheter device.

Severe thrombosis of the superior sagittal, transverse, and straight sinuses developed in a 53-year-old woman. This resulted in extensive multifocal hemorrhagic venous infarction and severe intracranial hypertension refractory to intensive management. Endovascular therapy using a rheolytic catheter device in combination with a small amount of fibrinolytic agent led to rapid normalization of the intracranial pressure, allowing optimization of the cerebral perfusion pressures and was followed by steady, albeit protracted, clinical improvement. The patient not only survived but also left the hospital with minimal neurologic deficit. The rheolytic catheter endovascular treatment is, in the opinion of the authors, the treatment of choice for patients with life-threatening cerebral sinus thrombosis.