Revascularization experience and results in ischaemic cerebrovascular disease: Moyamoya disease and carotid occlusion

Cerebral revascularization techniques are an indispensable tool in the current armamentarium of vascular neurosurgeons. We present revascularization surgery experience and results in both moyamoya disease and occlusive cerebral ischaemia. Patients with ischaemic occlusive disease and moyamoya disease who underwent microsurgical revascularization between October 2014 and September 2017 were analysed. In the study period, 23 patients with occlusive ischaemic disease underwent microsurgical revascularization. Three patients presented with serious postoperative complications (2 intraparenchymal haemorrhages in the immediate postoperative period and one thrombosis of the femoral artery). All patients, except one, achieved normalization of the cerebral hemodynamic reserve (CHR) in the SPECT study. Twenty patients had a good neurological result, with no ischaemic recurrence of the revascularized territory. Among patients with moyamoya, 20 had moyamoya disease and 5 had moyamoya syndrome with unilateral involvement. Five patients were treated at paediatric age. Haemorrhagic onset occurred in 2 patients. The CHR study showed hemodynamic compromise in all patients. Cerebral SPECT at one year showed resolution of the hemodynamic failure in all patients. There have been 4 postoperative complications (acute subdural hematoma, two subdural collections and one dehiscence of the surgical wound). No patient presented with neurological worsening at 6 and 12months of follow-up. Cerebral revascularization through end-to-side anastomosis between the superficial temporal artery and a cortical branch of the middle cerebral artery is an indisputable technique in the treatment of moyamoya disease and possibly in a subgroup of patients with symptomatic occlusive ischaemic cerebrovascular disease.