Case report: Ultrasound-Assisted endovascular therapy for carotid artery floating thrombus

Triple Stentriever "Bouquet" Deployment with Zoom 88 Large-Bore Aspiration and Walrus Balloon-Guide Catheter for the Definitive Thrombectomy of a Carotid Free-Floating Thrombus

Formation of a carotid free-floating thrombus (CFFT) is a rare and life-threatening condition without an optimal management plan. A 78-year-old woman with a history of prior right internal carotid artery (ICA) mechanical thrombectomy and antiplatelet noncompliance presented with transient ischemic attacks secondary to a recurrent CFFT in the right ICA. Given her symptoms and recurrent CFFT, endovascular mechanical thrombectomy was performed. A balloon guide-catheter (BGC) and a Zoom 88 distal access catheter were brought into the right distal common carotid artery and proximal ICA bulb, respectively. Three 0.021-inch microcatheters, each loaded with a unique stentriever, were navigated beyond the thrombus into the upper cervical ICA and deployed in a bouquet fashion. The BGC was inflated to achieve flow arrest, and the Zoom 88 aspiration catheter was tracked over the three bouquet stentrievers to ingest the thrombus. Follow-up angiography demonstrated recanalization of the proximal cervical ICA without evidence of residual thrombus. Twenty-four-hour postoperative computed tomography imaging did not reveal any evidence of new infarction. The patient was discharged home with an intact neurological examination, compliant on aspirin and apixaban. We demonstrate a novel technique utilizing a large-bore catheter with a triple stentriever "bouquet" to thrombectomize a CFFT.