Thrombectomy for ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion and concomitant subarachnoid hemorrhage

To report our experience in treating one patient with nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and concurrent acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessels occlusion (LVO). A man in his 50 s presented with acute right hemiparesis and aphasia. Brain CT showed a SAH in the left central sulcus; CT-angiography revealed a tandem occlusion of the left internal carotid artery and homolateral middle cerebral artery. He underwent an angiographic procedure with successful recanalization. Follow-up CT demonstrated a striatal-lenticular stroke without SAH progression. While the absolute contraindication to IVT during intracranial bleeding remains unquestionable, the potential injury/benefit from MT is still debatable. Such cases constitute a blind spot in the guidelines where physicians face the dilemma of choosing between an acute endovascular treatment with the risks of hemorrhage progression and a conservative treatment with the associated poor clinical outcome. We decided to treat our patient invasively, considering the young age, also given the absence of prognostic factors that generally predict post-procedural reperfusion injury. We believe that, in similar cases, MT should be considered—despite not free of risks and drawbacks—to avoid the detrimental consequences of untreated AIS from LVO.