Effectiveness of mechanical embolectomy for septic embolus in the cerebral artery complicated with infective endocarditis.

There has been a controversy over data of thrombolytic and endovascular surgical treatment about cerebral infarction secondary to infective endocarditis. We report a woman who received early mechanical embolectomy as a treatment of acute stroke with infective endocarditis. A 35-yr-old woman was hospitalized due to right hemiparesis. Brain image showed cerebral infarction at the middle cerebral artery and echocardiography demonstrated vegetation at the mitral valve. She was successfully treated with embolectomy and parenteral antibiotics without any neurologic sequelae. This report shows that the early retrieve of septic cerebral emboli can be a helpful treatment of acute stroke associated with endocarditis.