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Histologic Characteristics of Intracranial Clots Retrieved Using Mechanical Thrombectomy

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Abstract

A mechanical thrombectomy is currently the standard treatment for patients with acute ischemic stroke due to intracranial large-vessel occlusions [1–3]. The inclusion of a mechanical thrombectomy in stroke management allows the histologic examinations of retrieved clots occluding the intracranial arteries. A histologic analysis of a clot retrieved from an intracranial artery can provide important information on the stroke etiology, impacting secondary stroke prevention strategies. Intracranial clots are traditionally classified as red blood cell (RBC)-rich clots (red clots) or fibrin-rich clots (white clots). Therefore, this chapter covers the basic concepts of clots occluding human intracranial arteries in patients with acute ischemic stroke and presents recent evidence from histopathologic analyses of retrieved clots indicating an association between the clot composition and stroke etiology and imaging characteristics.

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Correspondence to Woong Yoon MD, PhD .

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© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Yoon, W. (2017). Histologic Characteristics of Intracranial Clots Retrieved Using Mechanical Thrombectomy. In: Park, J. (eds) Acute Ischemic Stroke. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0965-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0965-5_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0964-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0965-5

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