Use of intravascular optical coherence tomography to confirm the diagnosis of a carotid web in a patient with recurrent ipsilateral embolic strokes and evaluate the response to stenting

A Carotid web (CaW) is defined as a focal shelf-like projection of non-atheromatous, fibrous tissue along the posterior wall of the carotid bulb. CaW are rare and commonly overlooked lesions increasingly recognized as a cause of stroke in otherwise healthy patients. Intravascular imaging modalities such as intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography (OCT) have been proposed as an adjunct to digital subtraction angiography for the evaluation of CaW. However, the use of OCT in CaW has yet to be described. This report investigated the utility of OCT as an adjunct imaging modality in the evaluation of CaW morphology in a young patient with recurrent ischemic strokes.

Automated summary

Carotid web (CaW) is a rare and commonly overlooked lesion along the posterior wall of the carotid bulb that can cause stroke in otherwise healthy patients. Intravascular imaging modalities such as intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography (OCT) have been proposed as adjuncts to digital subtraction angiography for evaluating CaW, but the use of OCT in CaW has not been described. This report investigated the utility of OCT as an adjunct imaging modality in evaluating CaW morphology in a young patient with recurrent ischemic strokes.