title: Treatment of aortocoronary vein graft lesions with membrane-covered stents: A multicenter surveillance trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stent implantation in lesions of degenerated aortocoronary vein grafts is associated with a high risk of periprocedural thrombus embolization and in-stent restenosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a multicenter study, we followed up 109 consecutive patients (mean age 66+/-8 years, 12% female) who received polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane-covered stents for 125 de novo stenoses in vein grafts 11+/-5 years after bypass surgery. Stent deployment was successful in all but 1 patient; 1 patient suffered from subacute stent thrombosis. Six-month cardiac mortality was 7% (8 patients), 3 patients (3%) underwent repeat bypass surgery, and 9 patients (8%) required target-lesion PTCA. Repeat angiography revealed vessel occlusions in 9% and in-stent restenosis in 8% of patients by the end of follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Membrane-covered stents appear to be a safe and efficient treatment strategy associated with a low incidence of restenosis and target-vessel revascularization. Compared with previous studies, the investigated device is not associated with an increase in mortality or late vessel occlusions.
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: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elsner
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Auch-Schwelk
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rau
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meinertz
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Zeiher
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hamm
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene / Q000378:metabolism; D015607:Stents
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene