Background: Interventional stroke treatments for occlusions of the posterior circulation are established procedures. However, there are limited data on the treatment of isolated symptomatic P1 and P2 occlusions, which we have examined in this study.
Purpose: To investigate the mechanical thrombectomy of distal posterior occlusions.
Material and methods: Retrospectively, data from patients with isolated P1 and P2 occlusions treated with MT were evaluated. Successful reperfusions have been defined as modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarct (mTICI) Grade 2b-3. A good clinical outcome was defined as a 90-day modified Rankin score 0-2.
Results: All 79 treated patients were primarily aspirated. Stent retrievers were used secondarily in nine patients. Successful reperfusion was achieved in 95% of patients. Of the patients, 57% had a favorable clinical outcome after 90 days.
Conclusion: Mechanical thrombectomy with first line aspiration of symptomatic P1 and P2 occlusions is a safe and effective procedure.
Keywords: Acute stroke treatment; P1 and P2; distal occlusion; posterior cerebral arteries; thrombectomy.