BACKGROUND: With the increasing use of autologous fat (AF) grafting in plastic surgery, the occurrence of complications has garnered the attention from plastic surgeons. This study aims to estimate the cerebral complications following facial AF graft injection objectively and systematically with newly published literature.
METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted systematically on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov for articles published between 2000 and 2023. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.
RESULTS: A total of 11 articles comprising of 37 participants were included, all of which are case reports. For AF facial filling, the incidence rate of cerebral embolism among cases of cerebral and ocular embolism was found to be 60% (95% CI 0.41-0.79). The incidence of cerebral embolism presenting with initial symptoms of unconsciousness was 69% (95% CI 0.48-0.9), with limb movement disorders was 55% (95% CI 0.26-0.84), and with vision loss was 30% (95% CI 0.12-0.49). The incidence of cerebral embolism with ophthalmic artery occlusion was 36% (95% CI 0.20-0.53), compared to was 71% (95% CI 0.48-0.95) without ophthalmic artery occlusion.
CONCLUSIONS: AF grafting is generally safe and minimally invasive. However, with its widespread use as facial injection filling for cosmetic enhancement, the incidence of cerebral complications, such as cerebral infarction, has also increased. It is imperative to properly manage high-risk factors for cerebral embolism during the perioperative period to prevent its occurrence.
METHODS: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

BACKGROUND: Recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated similar outcomes in terms of ischemic stroke incidence after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid artery stenting (CAS) in asymptomatic carotid disease, while CEA seems to be the first option for symptomatic carotid disease. The aim of this meta-analysis is to assess the incidence of silent cerebral microembolization detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) following these procedures.
METHODS: A systematic search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases, including comparative studies involving symptomatic or asymptomatic patients undergoing either CEA or CAS and reporting on new cerebral ischemic lesions in postoperative MRI. The primary outcome was the newly detected cerebral ischemic lesions. Pooled effect estimates for all outcomes were calculated using the random-effects model. Prespecified random effects metaregression and subgroup analysis were conducted to examine the impact of moderator variables on the presence of new cerebral ischemic lesions.
RESULTS: 25 studies reporting on a total of 1827 CEA and 1500 CAS interventions fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The incidence of new cerebral ischemic lesions was significantly lower after CEA compared to CAS, regardless of the time of MRI assessment (first 24 hours; OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.17-0.64, P < 0.001), (the first 72 hours, OR: 0.25, 95% CI 0.18-0.36, P < 0.001), (generally within a week after the operation; OR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.17-0.34, P < 0.001). Also, the rate of stroke (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.23-0.63, P < 0.001) and the presence of contralateral new cerebral ischemic lesions (OR: 0.16, 95% CI 0.08-0.32, P < 0.001) were less frequent after CEA. Subgroup analysis based on the study design and the use of embolic protection device during CAS showed consistently lower rates of new lesions after CEA.
CONCLUSIONS: CEA demonstrates significant lower rates of new silent cerebral microembolization, as detected by MRI in postoperative period compared with CAS.

OBJECTIVE: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been a revolutionary therapy in the treatment of aortic valve stenosis. The risk of stroke associated with TAVR has decreased significantly since its introduction; however, it remains a devastating complication when it does occur.
RESULTS: Many of the strokes associated with TAVR occur peri-procedurally and are thought to be due to embolic debris entering the cerebrovascular circulation. A number of different cerebral embolic protection devices (CEPD) have been developed and are in various stages of testing and use. The results from clinical trials evaluating the role for CEPD to reduce the risk of stroke have been mixed. As a result, their uptake has been very heterogeneous. This review provides a summary of the diverse CEPD devices available for use and outlines the clinical evidence available to date.

Stroke presentation secondary to a cardiac myxoma thromboembolism is rare in the pediatric population. Because of such rarity, the reported cases in the literature are primarily case reports. Additionally, general pediatric stroke management lacks evidence-based guidelines because of its low incidence and lack of clinical trials. In pediatric strokes identified from a cardiac myxoma, the incidence favors boys with the classical presentation of unilateral weakness and aphasia. We present a pediatric patient who presented with strokelike symptoms secondary to an intracranial embolus from a previously undiagnosed cardiac myxoma.
We performed a systematic review by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Embase databases for cases of pediatric myxoma causing stroke (n = 2431) and identified 19 reported uses of surgical management in treating pediatric patients who present with stroke symptoms secondary to a cardiac myxoma thromboembolism.
The most common imaging modality was magnetic resonance imaging in 42% of cases, computed tomography in 36.8%, followed by computed tomography angiography in 31.6% of cases. Of these 19 children treated with procedures, 36.8% of pediatric patients aged between 4 and 14 years underwent neurosurgery (n = 7).
We describe an urgent mechanical thrombectomy and share preoperative and postoperative images and pathology slides confirming a stroke from myxoma origin. We provide added insight in the safe use of mechanical thrombectomy as treatment for pediatric strokes secondary to a thromboembolism.

We report a non-ambulatory 13-year-old boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who experienced severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and cerebral fat embolism following elective soft tissue surgery. Post-surgery radiological examination revealed bilateral femoral fractures and marked osteopenia that were believed to have caused disseminated pulmonary and cerebral fat embolism. The patient had never been on glucocorticoid treatment. Five months post-surgery, he remained in a state of minimal consciousness. A literature review was performed and eleven publications included, providing case reports of a total number of 23 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy with fat embolism syndrome. The most common causes were falls from the wheelchair that predominantly resulted in femoral fractures. Median age at the event was around 14 years. Seven patients succumbed to complications of fat embolism. No event was described in the context of surgery. We want to raise awareness that spontaneous unnoticed fractures may occur especially in adolescents with DMD from traumatic injury of large bones and also during elective surgery with a high risk of causing fat embolism with severe sequelae.

OBJECTIVE: The use of cerebral embolic protection (CEP) during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been studied in several randomised trials. We aimed to perform a systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis of randomised CEP trials, focusing on a clinically relevant reduction in disabling stroke.
METHODS: A systematic search was applied to three electronic databases, including trials that randomised TAVI patients to CEP versus standard treatment. The primary outcome was the risk of disabling stroke. Outcomes were presented as relative risk (RR), absolute risk differences (ARDs), numbers needed to treat (NNTs) and the 95% credible intervals (CrIs). The minimal clinically important difference was determined at 1.1% ARD, per expert consensus (NNT 91). The principal Bayesian meta-analysis was performed under a vague prior, and secondary analyses were performed under two informed literature-based priors.
RESULTS: Seven randomised studies were included for meta-analysis (n=3996: CEP n=2126, control n=1870). Under a vague prior, the estimated median RR of CEP use for disabling stroke was 0.56 (95% CrI 0.28 to 1.19, derived ARD 0.56% and NNT 179, I2=0%). Although the estimated posterior probability of any benefit was 94.4%, the probability of a clinically relevant effect was 0-0.1% under the vague and informed literature-based priors. Results were robust across multiple sensitivity analyses.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a high probability of a beneficial CEP treatment effect, but this is unlikely to be clinically relevant. These findings suggest that future trials should focus on identifying TAVI patients with an increased baseline risk of stroke, and on the development of new generation devices.
UNASSIGNED: CRD42023407006.

Periprocedural systemic embolism is a well-documented complication of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Although the most focus was given to cerebral embolism (which remains unpredictable, difficult to prevent, and a source of increased morbidity and mortality after TAVR), coronary embolism remains less investigated and potentially overlooked. This study provides a case series of 3 patients diagnosed with coronary embolism after TAVR in our institution over a 2-year period (3 of 297 cases, 1%) and a systematic literature review (4 studies; 19 case reports). Overall, coronary embolism associated with TAVR is frequently characterized by proximal vessel occlusion causing ST-elevation myocardial infarction and hemodynamic instability with lower mortality in the acute phase as compared with late coronary embolism. However, it often presents with distal vessel occlusion and minor symptoms that may be overlooked in the periprocedural period. In conclusion, we suggest that TAVR-associated coronary embolism has a much higher prevalence than previously documented. Further studies are warranted to properly assess the prevalence and impact of this phenomenon.

The incidence of silent cerebral emboli (SCE) associated with atrial fibrillation catheter ablation (AFCA) is much higher than that of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA). Interventional electrophysiologists have been increasingly alerted to asymptomatic cerebral infarction over the years. Plentiful studies revealed that diagnostic definitions, detection modalities, energy sources, ablation strategies, perioperative anticoagulation regimens, and patient-related factors were associated with the risk of AFCA-associated SCE. Studies related to non-interventional procedures found that SCE may prompt stroke, cognitive decline, and dementia later in life, suggesting a possible role of AFCA-associated SCE in the cognitive function of patients with AF. However, there is no consistent evidence for this view to date. Given that the majority of patients with AF being elderly and the increased risk of cognitive impairment in AF itself, efforts should be made to minimize the occurrence of AFCA-associated SCE.

The Sentinel cerebral embolic protection device (CEP) aims to reduce the risk of stroke during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of propensity score matched (PSM) and randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating the effect of the Sentinel CEP to prevent strokes during TAVR.
Eligible trials were searched through PubMed, ISI Web of science databases, Cochrane database, and proceedings of major congresses. Primary outcome was stroke. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, major or life-threatening bleeding, major vascular complications and acute kidney injury at discharge. Fixed and random effect models were used to calculate the pooled risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and absolute risk difference (ARD).
A total of 4066 patients from 4 RCTs (3\'506 patients) and 1 PSM study (560 patients) were included. Use of Sentinel CEP was successful in 92% of patients and was associated with a significantly lower risk of stroke (RR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48-0.95, p = 0.02. ARD: -1.3%, 95% CI: -2.3 - -0.2, p = 0.02, number needed to treat (NNT) = 77), and a reduced risk of disabling stroke (RR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.17-0.65. ARD: -0.9%, 95% CI: -1.5 - -0.3, p = 0.004, NNT = 111). Use of Sentinel CEP was associated with a lower risk of major or life-threatening bleeding (RR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16-0.87, p = 0.02). Risk for nondisabling stroke (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.62-1.40, p = 0.73), all-cause mortality (RR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.35-1.40, p = 0.31), major vascular complications (RR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.33-1.67, p = 0.47) and acute kidney injury (RR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.37-1.50, p = 0.40) were similar.
The use of CEP during TAVR was associated with lower risks of any stroke and disabling stroke with an NNT of 77 and 111, respectively.

Symptomatic nonstenotic carotid artery disease has been increasingly recognized as a thromboembolic source in patients who would otherwise be classified as having embolic stroke of undetermined source. Evidence suggests that certain plaque features seen on sonography, CT, and MR imaging in nonstenotic carotid artery disease may predispose to recurrent stroke in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source. We performed a focused literature review to further study plaque features in the context of embolic stroke of undetermined source and to determine which plaque features may be associated with ipsilateral ischemic events in such patients. Plaque thickness as seen on both ultrasound and CT appears to have a consistent association with ipsilateral stroke in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source across multiple studies. Intraplaque hemorrhage as seen on MR imaging is now understood to have a strong association with ipsilateral stroke in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source. Continued study of various plaque features as seen on different modalities is warranted to uncover other potential associations.