A "mouse in a trap" method for cerebral protection during carotid stenting: Technical note.

Carotid artery angioplasty and stenting (CAS) is now used as an alternative to surgical endarterectomy. The introduction of cerebral protection systems during stenting has improved carotid artery stenosis treatment, with less periprocedural complications. A "mouse in a trap" method was conceived and used in three patients. This involved an emboli entrapment-aspiration system using one proximal occluder in the common carotid artery and two distal occluders in the internal carotid artery or external carotid artery, followed by serial inflation-deflation cycles during each carotid stenting procedure. Debris was retrieved before dilation in one patient, after deployment in one, and after dilation in two. Although only used in a few cases to date, the method may improve the practice of CAS in treating patients with carotid stenosis, resulting in less thromboembolic events.