title: Long-term clinical results after stent implantation in old obstructed saphenous vein grafts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the long-term clinical outcome of treating patients with coronary artery disease and obstructed saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) with stents deployed by oversized balloon catheters.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 89 of 92 consecutive patients who had 121 SVG stent implants (average, 1.4 stents per patient). We aimed at achieving a negative stenosis using oversized balloons to achieve a catheter to artery ratio of 1.1:1, and a 100% follow-up at 24+/-14 months (range, 0 to 54 months) was achieved.
  
  
  METHODS
  As 3 of 92 patients died during hospital admission, the study follow-up population consisted of 89 of 92 patients (mean age, 67+/-10 years). The age of the SVGs was 10+/-4 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We implanted 118 Palmaz-Schatz and 3 Gianturco-Roubin stents. Procedural success was achieved in 87 of 92 patients (94.5%; < 50% stenosis, and no death, Q-wave acute myocardial infarction, or coronary artery bypass graft [CABG]). Mean SVG stenosis diameter was reduced from 80+/-13% to -11+/-12% (p<0.001) and mean luminal diameter increased from 0.6+/-0.5 mm to 3.3+/-0.8 mm (p<0.001). At follow-up, angina pectoris had developed in 42 of 89 patients (47%), acute myocardial infarction in 12 of 89 patients (14%), reperformed CABG in 12 of 89 patients (14%), cardiac death in 10 of 89 patients (11%), and unrelated death in 6 of 89 patients (7%). Coronary angiography was performed in 37 of 89 patients (42%), with restenosis in 16 of 37 patients (43%) and disease progression at other sites in 11 of 37 patients (30%). Only 25 of 89 patients (28%) experienced event-free survival at follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite high procedural success and excellent angiographic results with oversized balloon catheters, the long-term clinical outcome of SVG stent implantation is suboptimal.
authors.affiliation: Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Scavetta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Zaibag
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Jutzy
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caldron
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Marsa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000637:transplantation*; D015607:Stents; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome