Clinical Significance of Wall Changes after Recanalization Therapy in Acute Stroke: High-Resolution Vessel Wall Imaging

Background and Purpose-Owing to the excellent recanalization rate of endovascular treatment, new outcome predictors are required for patients with acute stroke, who have sufficient recanalization. In this study, the effects of recanalization therapy on occluded arteries in patients with acute stroke were investigated using high-resolution vessel wall imaging. Methods-Twenty-nine patients with stroke were included in the study. High-resolution vessel wall imaging was performed on patients with acute stroke and adequate postrecanalization results. We characterized the postrecanalization arterial wall changes as concentric enhancements and plaques and examined the associations of the postrecanalization changes with procedural factors and neurological outcomes. Results-The most frequent high-resolution vessel wall imaging finding was concentric enhancement, which was associated with thrombectomy procedural factors such as the number of procedures and the type of device. Concentric enhancements were associated with hemorrhagic transformation, whereas plaque was not associated with procedural details. Conclusions-The use of high-resolution vessel wall imaging after successful recanalization can provide information about postrecanalization arterial wall changes and clinical outcomes.