Mechanical thrombectomy of acute occlusions of individual distal anterior cerebral artery branches

To describe our experience with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in distal anterior cerebral artery (ACA) occlusions regarding recanalization rates, MT techniques and procedural safety. From a prospectively maintained thrombectomy database all patients with distal ACA occlusions treated with MT between April 2013 and February 2021 were retrospectively identified. Imaging data and angiographic features as well as clinical data were collected. 41 patients were included in the study, including 23 patients (56.1%) with distal main stem occlusions (occlusions distal to the anterior communicating artery but proximal to the origin of the pericallosal and callosomarginal arteries) and 18 patients (46.3%) with distal individual branch occlusions (occlusions of the pericallosal or callosomarginal arteries and their ramifications). A stent retriever mediated technique was applied in 34 patients (82.9%), the ADAPT technique in 7 patients (17.1%). Successful (mTICI 2b/3) and complete recanalization (mTICI 3) rates did not differ for the distal ACA main stem occlusion group (82.6%/56.5%), and the individual branch occlusion group (83.3%/55.6%) (p ≫ 0.05). No severe complications specific to distal MT maneuvers were noted. MT for acute distal individual ACA branch occlusions beyond the common A2/3 trunk appears safe and technically effective in different clinical settings and occlusion patterns with high recanalization rates. However, further studies are required to determine the clinical effectiveness.