Novel Tenzing 7 Delivery Catheter for Thrombectomy in Acute Stroke: A Clinical Multicenter Experience

BACKGROUND Preliminary in vitro and early clinical experience of the Tenzing 7 delivery catheter demonstrated high success rates of aspiration catheter intracranial delivery with minimal complications. This study aimed to examine the efficacy, safety, and efficiency of the Tenzing 7 delivery catheter to deliver therapeutic devices in aspiration mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic strokes using clinical experience from multiple institutions. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with aspiration mechanical thrombectomy using the Tenzing 7 delivery catheter between January 2020 and July 2022 at 6 high volume stroke centers. Primary efficacy outcome was success in aspiration catheter delivery to the face of the thrombus, and primary safety end point was rate of procedural complication. RESULTS Of a total of 176 patients (mean age 70.1±14.9 years, 56.3% female, 89.2% middle cerebral artery occlusions), first‐pass effect (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score≥2B) was achieved in 90/166 (54.2%) successfully revascularized patients. Tenzing 7 delivered the aspiration catheter of choice to the site of occlusion in 95.9% of cases; the clot was not crossed with Tenzing 7 in 69% of cases. Successful recanalization (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score≥2B) was achieved in 94.9% of cases requiring a median of 1 pass (interquartile range 1–3). Nonflow limiting vessel dissection unrelated to Tenzing 7 occurred in 4 patients (2.3%), and intracranial vessel perforation unrelated to Tenzing 7 occurred in 4 cases (2.3%). CONCLUSION This multicenter clinical experience using Tenzing 7 in mechanical thrombectomy demonstrated high rates of technical success and a modest complication rate, similar to the published rates of technical success with other thrombectomy techniques. The Tenzing 7 delivery catheter is effective and safe for the delivery of the aspiration catheter in patients undergoing thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke.