TY - JOUR T1 - Aspiring to an improved aspiration literature JF - Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery JO - J NeuroIntervent Surg SP - 923 LP - 924 DO - 10.1136/neurintsurg-2018-014046 VL - 10 IS - 10 AU - David F Kallmes AU - Adnan H Siddiqui AU - Sameer A Ansari AU - David S Liebeskind AU - Osama O Zaidat Y1 - 2018/10/01 UR - http://jnis.bmj.com/content/10/10/923.abstract N2 - Mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion presenting with acute ischemic stroke is evidently in its Tower of Babel stage, inundated with increasing numbers of acronym-focused techniques all claiming ‘improved’ revascularization.1–5 The overarching term ‘mechanical thrombectomy’ is grossly inaccurate in the vast majority of cases for we are removing an embolus—a procedure better called ‘embolectomy.’ The race for new acronyms to describe procedures, however, can be traced back to the currently most popular, ADAPT. A Direct Aspiration first Pass Technique (ADAPT)6 7 is a well-established method with demonstrated efficacy through multiple prospective randomized trials, but we remain confused about the ‘exact’ procedure. Can anyone tell us, after engaging the clot, should we expect the clot to be ingested or not, and, if not, what we should do next? Do we pull slowly? How long should we wait before pulling back? Do we touch or embed the aspiration catheter in the clot? Do we aspirate manually? How far do we pull back? Is it usual to achieve full clot ingestion, or is it more common to ‘cork’ the clot and subsequently retrieve it, hanging in the breeze, as we pull into the guide? And let’s not even start discussing … ER -