Occlusio Supra Occlusionem: Intracranial Occlusions Following Carotid Thrombosis as Diagnosed by Cerebral Angiography

Collateral circulation between internal and external carotid arteries was sufficient to thoroughly opacify the middle cerebral artery on cerebral angiography in 11 of 100 patients with internal carotid occlusion. In four of the 11, the branches of the middle cerebral were intact. In two of the four, the carotid occlusion was an incidental finding; one patient presented with transient ischemic attacks and one had a stroke of the border zone variety. The remaining seven patients all had clinical strokes and showed occlusion of one or more branches of the middle cerebral artery. The stroke appeared to be the result of the intracranial occlusion rather than that of the internal carotid.