TY - JOUR
AR - SCR-2019-6-107
TI - Embolectomy in Patient with Basilar Artery Occlusion and Poor Neurological Exam
AU - Hekmat, Zarzour
AU - Joshua, Weinberg
AU - Michael, McAree
AU - Neal, Joshi
AU - Pascal, Jabbour
AU - Robert, Rosenwasser
JO - Surgical Case Reports
PY - 2019
DA - Fri 13, Dec 2019
SN - 2613-5965
DO - http://dx.doi.org/10.31487/j.SCR.2019.06.07
UR - https://www.sciencerepository.org/embolectomy-in-patient-with-basilar-artery-occlusion_SCR-2019-6-107 
KW - Basilar artery occlusion, embolectomy, comatose, recanalization
AB - Background: Acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) is generally associated with a poor prognosis and mortality rates up to 85% in non-recanalized patients. Emergent recanalization is essential to improve outcomes in this patient subgroup.
Objective: To show that good patient outcomes, modified Rankin score (mRS) 0-2, can be achieved in patients presenting with acute BAO and poor or no neurological exam.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the hospital course of a patient presenting with acute BAO and absent brainstem reflexes who underwent emergent revascularization.
Results: The patient was discharge with cranial nerve III palsy but was otherwise neurologically intact. Conclusions: Patients presenting with acute BAO and poor or no neurological exam should be considered for emergent endovascular intervention. Despite the high risk of morbidity and mortality, this subgroup of patients can still have good functional outcomes.