Histopathologic Description of Wingspan Stent in Acute Ischemic Stroke

We report the histopathologic examination of Wingspan stent in acute ischemic stroke. A 75-year-old female presented with acute left-hemiplegia due to right carotid terminus occlusion. Mechanical embolectomy was unsuccessful. A Wingspan stent was placed from the distal intracranial carotid artery to the proximal middle cerebral artery stem and established partial antegrade flow. The patient died of malignant infarction on post-stroke day 7. At autopsy, embolized calcified atherosclerotic plaque fragments were noted within a non-occlusive thrombus over which the Wingspan stent was deployed. There was no evidence of intimal or media dissection or perforator ostium occlusion. Our case provides a rare pathological description of intracranial stent placement in the setting of acute ischemic stroke.