Acute embolic carotid occlusion after cardiac catheterization: effect of local intra-arterial urokinase thrombolysis.

A 64-year-old woman developed a severe embolic cerebral attack with total left hemiplegia approximately 30 hours after cardiac catheterization for mitral stenosis. She underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis of the right internal carotid artery four and one-half hours after the onset of neurologic deficit with subsequent recanalization of the occluded vessel and near complete neurologic recovery.