Internal carotid occlusion: assessment, by Tc-99m-tagged microspheres, of bypass from superficial temporal to middle cerebral artery

The assessment of regional blood perfusion through the STA-MCA anastomosis was performed by the method of intracarotid injection of Tc-99m-labeled human albumin microspheres (HAM scintigraphy). This study included 11 anastomoses in 10 cases with occlusion of the internal carotid artery, who were treated by bypass surgery. The area of intracranial perfusion through the bypass was well defined in all cases by HAM scintigraphy. This method is excellent for imaging the regional blood perfusion through the anastomotic vessel, and the scintigraphic findings agree well with those of postoperative angiography. HAM scintigraphy will partially replace postoperative angiography because of its simplicity and low invasiveness