Middle cerebral artery embolectomy. Case report.

A patient who developed an embolic occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery while undergoing a cerebral arteriogram was successfully operated on by removal of the embolus under the surgical microscope. Early postoperative cerebrovascular spasm was a factor in the transient deterioration of the patient's neurological condition. When the patient was last seen 2 1/2 months after surgery she was almost intact neurologically with only a mild right parietal dysfunction but with total resolution of the left hemiplegia. The literature is reviewed.