Abciximab for the treatment of acute distal embolization associated with internal carotid artery angioplasty

Carotid artery angioplasty and stent placement (CAS) can be complicated by procedure related distal embolization and thrombus formation, potentially r esulting in neurological sequelae. Patient A had CAS of left internal carot id artery and had loss of vision in the left eye with no flow in the left o phthalmic artery. Patient B had CAS of right internal carotid artery and de veloped left sided hemiparesis with total occlusion of the right middle cer ebral artery. A selective intra-arterial injection of 5 mg of abciximab loc ally followed by a bolus of 5 mg of abciximab intravenously resulted in com plete resolution of the filling defect on repeat angiography after 10 min i n both patients. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.