脳血管内治療の最前線

Brain surgery has made a great contribution to the treatment of cerebrovascular disease in the last half of this century. On the other hand, endovascular treatment using catheter without invasive craniotomy has made rapid progress recently. Various cerebrovascular diseases can be treated with this technique irrespective of hemorrhage or ischemia. By means of groin puncture (femoral artery puncture) specialized devices and materials can be delivered up to intracranial lesion where brain surgery is unable to access. In this paper, illustrative cases including coil embolization for cerebral aneurysm, Merci clot retriever for cardiogenic cerebral embolism and carotid artery stenting are demonstrated and issues and future perspective of the recent advances in the endovascular treatment for cerebrovascular disease are discussed.