Transcranial Doppler ultrasound changes before and after stent assisted angioplasty of middle cerebral artery stenosis

Objective: To observe the middle cerebral artery(MCA) flow velocity changes after stent assisted angioplasty of symptomatic MCA stenostic patients. Methods: Twenty-two MCA stenostic patients underwent stent assisted angioplasty. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound(TCD) was performed before and after treatment. Results: ①TCD findings before treatment: the velocity of MCA is remarkably increased in MCA stenostic patients. ②TCD changes after treatment: most patients' MCA velocity decreased in different degrees, one case appeared transient ischemic attack(TIA) due to MCA spasm. ③During follow-up over 1～15 months(mean 4.6 months), one case appeared restenosis after 11 months. The remaining patients experienced alleviation of symptoms without TIA and apoplexy during short term follow up. Angiograph showed that the stenostic degree reduced from 82% to 5%. Follow up by TCD showed good patency of stented lesions. The TCD diagnosis is consistent with DSA. Conclusions: TCD is a sensitive means to diagnose MCA stenosis, and to assess the effect of stent assisted angioplasty. It can be used to evaluate the results of treatment and as a tool of follow-up.