Japanese Registry of Neuroendovascular therapy: Extracranial steno-occlusive diseases except for internal carotid artery stenosis

Although utilization of endovascular treatment of extracranial steno-occlusive lesions except for internal carotid artery stenosis continues to increase, there is no consensus regarding the natural course and standard treatment of these lesions. The aim of this study was to characterize the utility of endovascular treatment for extracranial steno-occlusive lesions except for internal carotid artery stenosis. A total of 1249 procedures for extracranial steno-occlusive lesions were identified from the Japanese Registry of Neuroendovascular Therapy (JR-NET) and JR-NET2. Excluding the cases of carotid lesions (290 cases), endovascular procedures were performed for 471 (37.7%) subclavian artery stenoses, 404 (32.3%) extracranial vertebral artery stenoses, and 38 (3.0%) innominate artery stenoses with a technical success rate of 97.2%. A stent was placed for 783 lesions and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty was performed for 183 lesions. Forty complications were reported in this cohort. Among these, ischemic complications were the most frequent (12 cases). Comparison between JR-NET1 and JR-NET2 demonstrated a marked increase in the number of procedures, a change in the utilization of antiplatelet therapy, and an increased rate of favorable outcome. We conclude that the endovascular treatment for extracranial steno-occlusive lesions is relatively safe. Continuous efforts should be made to reduce the complication rate, and further trials are needed to validate the beneficial effect of this procedure.