Stent retriever (stentriever) thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke

Following the success of five randomized controlled trials comparing intra-arterial recanalization treatment plus standard medical therapy with standard medical treatment, a stent retriever (stentriever) thrombectomy is now recommended as the first-line treatment for acute stroke due to an intracranial large artery occlusion (ILAO) of the anterior circulation [1-11]. As a result, the ability to perform a stentriever thrombectomy is an essential skill for neurointerventionalists, where the learning curve is relatively short for normal cases of endovascular acute stroke treatment [12]. However, in complicated situations, recanalizing an occluded large intracranial artery using a stentriever can become difficult. Therefore, this chapter explains the basic procedure of a stentriever thrombectomy and then suggests some problem-solving techniques for various complex situations.