Talking about neurointervention

  Cerebrovascular disease is a group of diseases in which lesions occur in the arteries of the brain or the carotid arteries that innervate the brain, thus causing impaired intracranial blood circulation and damage to brain tissue. Cerebrovascular disease can be divided into two categories according to its nature, one is ischemic cerebrovascular disease, which is more common clinically and accounts for about 70% to 80% of all cerebrovascular patients. It is caused by cerebral arteriosclerosis and other reasons, which narrow the lumen of cerebral arteries, reduce blood flow or completely block the cerebral circulation, and cause a series of symptoms of brain tissue damage. The other category is hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease, mostly caused by long-term hypertension, congenital cerebrovascular malformation and other factors. Cerebrovascular disease is currently one of the three major diseases causing human death in the world. According to our 1991 statistics, the annual number of stroke incidence reached 1.5 million, which is the first cause of death in many regions.  Neurointerventional radiology is mainly applied to cerebrovascular diseases, which has been carried out in foreign countries for more than 30 years and in China for nearly 20 years, with the aim of achieving the best treatment effect at the least cost. This allows lesions that previously required surgery to be cured without surgery. Neurointerventional treatment of cerebrovascular diseases includes intracranial aneurysms, cerebrovascular malformations, traumatic internal carotid cavernous sinus fistula, carotid stenosis, intracranial artery stenosis, and acute cerebral thrombosis.  An apt description of intracranial aneurysms is that they are like an untimely bomb that can be fatal if they rupture. Therefore, once an intracranial aneurysm is identified, it should be treated as soon as possible.  Intracranial aneurysm is the most mature method in interventional neuroradiology and is currently the main treatment for intracranial aneurysm. Compared with surgical treatment, interventional embolization of aneurysms is relatively low-risk and does not require craniotomy, so it has become the mainstream treatment for intracranial aneurysms, especially in recent years, the proportion of interventional treatment in Europe and economically developed regions in China has exceeded that of surgery. Interventional treatment is particularly suitable for patients with aneurysms of older age, poorer general condition, combined cardiopulmonary disorders, and posterior circulation.  Stenting of carotid artery stenosis is another more mature technique in neurointervention. The stent is released through a femoral artery puncture by delivering a metal stent along a guide wire through the lumen directly to the stenosis of the carotid artery. Stent placement improves blood supply to the brain and stabilizes the arterial plaque at the stenosis site, thereby reducing symptoms of cerebral ischemia such as dizziness and significantly reducing the incidence of ischemic stroke, and is a preventive procedure. Compared with surgery for internal carotid artery stenosis, carotid stenting is close in clinical efficacy and complications, but carotid nerve injury and infection have almost never occurred in patients undergoing carotid stenting, and the hospital stay is short, there is no surgical scar, and no cosmetic treatment is required. In addition, carotid stenting is widely available for patients who are not candidates for carotid endarterectomy or who are at high risk for the procedure, thus providing a wider range of indications.  Traumatic internal carotid cavernous sinus fistula is a trauma-induced abnormal arteriovenous traffic, which is relatively uncommon compared to intracranial aneurysm and carotid stenosis. Due to the complex structure of the lesion site and the difficulty of surgery, interventional treatment has now become the treatment of choice. In addition, neurointerventional treatment for cerebrovascular malformations, intracranial artery stenosis, acute cerebral infarction and intracranial blood-rich tumors has also been widely carried out and has shown good clinical efficacy.  Interventional neuroradiology, as an emerging fringe discipline, is maturing and improving, showing vigor and vitality, and will definitely play a greater and greater role in the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases in the future.