Thrombectomy for acute basilar artery occlusion by using double Merci retriever devices and bilateral temporary vertebral artery flow reversal. Technical note.

Basilar artery occlusion is a dramatic clinical event with a high mortality rate if patients are treated by standard medical therapy, including anticoagulation agents. The use of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator or intraarterial thrombolysis recanalizes 30-53 and 64%, respectively, of patients with basilar stroke. Mechanical endovascular treatments allow tailored procedures with quicker results and higher recanalization rates. The authors describe a successful mechanical removal of an obstruction in an acute occlusion of the basilar artery tip involving both proximal segments of posterior cerebral arteries in a 20-year-old man. They used 2 Merci retriever devices at the same time, and performed bilateral proximal vertebral artery occlusion for temporary flow reversal and aspiration.