Late spontaneous recanalization of acute internal carotid artery occlusion.

Spontaneous internal carotid recanalization has been infrequently observed, and when it has been reported, it has most commonly occurred early after a stroke. We report a case of a patient with late spontaneous recanalization of the internal carotid artery (ICA) that occurred within 6 months to 1 year after the initial diagnosis of occlusion during the course of a stroke. This event allowed the patient to undergo a successful surgical intervention. A suggestion is made about the mechanism of this phenomenon and an implication about changes in the follow-up strategies of these patients is presented.