Tratamento microcirúrgico do Acidente Vascular Cerebral isquêmico na fase aguda e validação de face e conteúdo de tabela de acompanhamento funcional

Abstract

Introduction: Microsurgical thrombectomy (MT) has been used for many years in cases of stroke. There is no detailed description of the systematic technique. With the spread of endovascular thrombectomy procedures, an increase in failure in these procedures is also expected and MT as a rescue procedure tends to be progressively more demanded. Considering the potential demand, it is critical to develop a systematized surgical planning that allows the effectiveness and speed of the procedure, and, to this end, we describe the 2-1-2 microsurgical technique. Furthermore, there are no studies that demonstrate the individual's functional prognosis based on the type of vascular occlusion found during surgery, taking into account conventional thrombus and atherosclerosis plaque, and a functional scale to be carried out with the individual after the procedure and faithfully evaluating functionality on a daily basis. Method: Eight individuals admitted to emergency care with extensive ischemic stroke and not possible to perform or the failure of endovascular thrombectomy were evaluated. They were referred to TM 2-1-2 after the image showed cerebral collaterals to the affected vessel on cranial CT angiography and Alberta stroke program early CT score (ASPECTS) greater than 6 points. The procedure consisted of two punctures with a 4 mm hypodermic needle in the target artery, transverse 1mm arteriotomy with micro scissors, removal of the thrombus using milking maneuvers and 2 simple points. The individuals were followed for 60 days with physical and imaging exams. The occlusive materials were collected and sent to the pathological anatomy department for histopathological analysis. A new instrument called the FOLLOW Scale was developed to evaluate various functional aspects of post-stroke individuals, allowing both the patients themselves and their families and caregivers to monitor functional evolution. The scale was applied for face and content validation through the opinion of 51 post-stroke individuals, family members/caregivers and professionals from different areas. Results: All individuals treated with the TM 2-1-2 technique had complete thrombus removal using a precise technique with control of manual movements and surgical time. Skull tomography angiography showed full re-establishment of cerebrovascular circulation with clinical improvement in 60 days of follow-up without complications or hospital readmissions. The conventional thrombus is easy to remove and does not obstruct the vessel after the procedure. Regarding the external appearance, when it has a white appearance, the result tended to be worse when compared to the vessel that has a purplish external appearance. The FOLLOW Scale has face and content validity for measuring an individual's functionality three months after the stroke and is easy to understand by laypeople and non-laypeople with no statistically significant difference. Conclusions: The TM 2-1-2 technique can be performed quickly and effectively in a systematic way, offering tertiary or rescue therapy for the treatment of acute stroke. It was observed that conventional thrombus is easy to remove, which can lead to a better functional prognosis. The FOLLOW scale is an instrument proposed for longitudinal functional monitoring of these individuals and has the advantage of being able to be applied by professionals without specific training and had the initial validation in the present study. Specific microsurgical training is critical to perform this treatment and larger studies are needed to confirm the findings of the present study.