Balloon-expandable covered stent therapy of complex endovascular pathology.

The current study was designed to investigate our hypotheses that balloon-expandable covered stents display acceptable function over longitudinal follow-up in patients with complex vascular pathology and provide a suitable alternative for the treatment of recurrent in-stent restenosis. All stents were Atrium iCast, which is a balloon-mounted, polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent with a 6F/7F delivery system. A retrospective review was performed of 49 patients with 66 stented lesions. Data were analyzed with life tables and t-tests. The most commonly treated vessels were the iliac (61%) and renal (24%) arteries. Indications for covered stent placement were unstable atheromatous lesions (50%), recurrent in-stent restenosis (24%), aneurysm (8%), aortic bifurcation reconstruction (7.5%), dissection (4.5%), endovascular aneurysm repair-related (4.5%), and stent fracture (1.5%). Patency was assessed by angiogram or duplex ultrasonography. The primary end point was patency and secondary end points were technical success and access-site complications. Mean follow-up was 13 months (range 1.5-25). The technical success rate was 97%. Unsuccessful outcomes were due to deployment error (n=1) and stent malpositioning (n=1). The cohort (n=64) 6- and 12-month primary patency rates were 96% and 84%, respectively. Twelve-month assisted primary patency was 98%. Iliac artery stents (n=38) had a primary patency of 97% at 6 months and 84% at 12 months with an assisted primary patency of 100% at 12 months. Renal artery stents (n=16) had a primary patency of 92% at 6 months and 72% at 12 months with an assisted primary patency of 92% at 6 and 12 months. Stents placed for recurrent in-stent restenosis (n=16) had a primary patency of 85%, assisted primary patency of 93%, and a 15% restenosis rate at 12 months. Specifically, stents placed for renal artery recurrent in-stent restenosis (n=10) had a primary patency of 73%, assisted primary patency of 82%, and a restenosis rate of 27%. The restenosis rate included two renal artery occlusions in patients noncompliant with clopidogrel use and resulted in ipsilateral kidney loss in both patients. In-stent peak systolic velocities decreased significantly (p<0.05) from preoperation to 12 months in iliac stents and to 18 months in renal stents. Ankle-brachial index increased significantly in iliac stents from preoperation (0.62+/-0.18) to 18 months (0.86+/-0.16). Successful exclusion of atheromatous lesions and aneurysm/dissection/endoleak was 100%. Access-site complications occurred in 6%: pseudoaneurysm (n=2), dissection (n=1), and bleeding (n=1). Balloon-expandable covered stents have an acceptable primary patency with an excellent assisted patency after salvage angioplasty. The clinical utility of this technology is broad for the treatment of aneurysms, extravasation, unstable atheromatous lesions, and recurrent in-stent restenosis.

Selection of treatment for patients with carotid artery disease: medication, carotid endarterectomy, or carotid artery stenting.

Patients presenting with atherosclerosis of the extracranial carotid arteries may be offered carotid endarterectomy (CEA), carotid artery stenting (CAS), or medical therapy to reduce their risk of stroke. In many cases, the choice between treatment modalities remains controversial. An algorithm based on patients' neurologic symptoms, comorbidities, limiting factors for CAS and CEA, and personal preferences was developed to determine the optimal treatment in each case. This algorithm was then employed to determine therapy in 308 consecutive patients presenting to a single institution during one calendar year. Ninety-five (30.8%) patients presented with an asymptomatic carotid stenosis of more than 80% and 213 (69.2%) with a symptomatic stenosis of more than 50%. According to our algorithm, 59 (62.1%) of the 95 asymptomatic patients received CAS, 20 (21.1%) received CEA, and 16 (16.8%) received medical therapy. All symptomatic patients underwent intervention; 153 (71.8%) were treated with CAS and 60 (28.2%) with CEA. Combined 30-day stroke and death rates after CAS were 1.7% in asymptomatic patients and 2.6% in symptomatic patients. After CEA, these rates were 0% and 3.3%, respectively. Careful selection of treatment modality according to predetermined criteria can result in improved outcomes.