title: Membrane-covered stents for the treatment of aortocoronary vein graft disease.
abstract: We report of a 78-year-old patient who underwent angioplasty for two de novo lesions in different aortocoronary venous bypass grafts. Whereas one lesion was treated by conventional stents, two adjacent lesions in a second bypass graft were covered by two newly designed stents with a polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) membrane in between two layers of struts. The patient was first readmitted at month 5 with recurrent angina pectoris. High-grade in-stent restenosis of the lesion covered by the conventional stent was diagnosed, whereas the lesions treated by the membrane-covered stent revealed no restenosis. The patient underwent subsequent balloon angioplasty and was readmitted with unstable angina 8 months after the initial procedure. The angiogram revealed subtotal occlusion of the vein graft due to diffuse in-stent restenosis within the conventional stent. Undergoing re-PTCA, the patient received an additional membrane-covered stent placed over the proximal device. For the following 7 months, the patient stayed asymptomatic and underwent elective reangiography, which revealed a satisfying long-term result with no relevant luminal loss at the target site. This intraindividual comparison of stents in aortocoronary vein grafts suggests that PTFE membrane-covered stents might reduce restenosis as compared to conventional stents in venous bypass grafts. Furthermore, these stents potentially represent a new treatment strategy to fight in-stent restenosis in selected lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Kerckhoff Heart Center, Bad Nauheim, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baldus
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Köster
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reimers
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hamm
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D012008:Recurrence; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000637:transplantation; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene