Management of a recurrent right juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma using direct tumorous puncture embolisation and a subtemporal-preauricular infratemporal fossa surgical approach.

A juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign vascular tumour that arises from the pterygopalatine fossa. It is seen near exclusively in young males though female cases have been reported. Symptoms are due to their high vascularity and mass effect. Commonly reported symptoms include: nasal obstruction, epistaxis and nasal discharge. The mainstay of treatment is surgical resection either via an endonasal endoscopic approach or open surgical resection. Preoperative embolisation has been shown to decrease intraoperative bleeding. Embolisation may be undertaken via a transarterial (TA) approach or, more recently, via direct tumorous puncture (DTP). Options for recurrent or residual disease may include revision surgery, radiotherapy or close clinical surveillance. The following case presentation describes the management of a recurrent JNA in an adult male using preoperative embolisation via a combination of TA and DTP embolisation and an open surgical resection via a subtemporal-preauricular infratemporal fossa approach.

Emergent extracranial internal carotid artery stenting and mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischaemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE: Tandem occlusions involving both the extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and an intracranial artery typically respond poorly to intravenous (IV) tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA). We retrospectively review our experience with proximal ICA stenting and stent-assisted thrombectomy of the distal artery. METHODS: The data included patients that underwent carotid stenting and mechanical thrombectomy between 2012-2013. Radiographic, clinical, and procedural data were drawn from case notes, imaging records and discharge reports. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the modified Rankin scale (mRs). RESULTS: Seven patients, with a mean age of 66.4 years and a mean admission NIHSS of 18.3, underwent this procedure and were included. Each presented with an occlusion of the proximal ICA, with additional occlusions of the ICA terminus (n = 3), middle cerebral artery (n = 5), or anterior cerebral artery (n = 1). Recanalisation of all identified occlusions was achieved in all patients, with a Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score of 3 and a Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) score >2b achieved in each case. Mean time from onset of stroke symptoms to recanalisation was 287 min; mean time from first angiography to recanalisation was 52 min. Intracranial haemorrhages occurred in two patients, with no increase in NIHSS. There were no mortalities. Mean NIHSS at discharge was 4.9, and mRs at 90 days was one in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of tandem extracranial ICA and intracranial occlusions in the setting of acute ischaemic stroke with extracranial carotid artery stenting followed by adjunctive intracranial mechanical thrombectomy is both safe and effective, but further evaluation of this treatment modality is necessary.