title: Primary stenting in the treatment of focal atherosclerotic abdominal aortic stenoses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the results of primary stent placement in focal atherosclerotic aortic stenoses using balloon expandable stents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-six primary balloon expandable stent placements in the abdominal aorta were performed and reviewed. All the aortic stenoses were atherosclerotic. Patients were followed up by ankle/brachial pressure indices (ABPI) and Doppler ultrasound (US) at 24h after procedure and at 12 and 24 months. Follow-up angiograms were performed at 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-six stents in 26 patients were placed in the infrarenal aorta. All procedures were technically successful and immediate clinical success was obtained. The mean ABPI significantly improved from 0.52+/-0.10 to 0.94+/-0.09 within 24h after procedure, and remained at 0.90+/-0.12 between 12 and 24 months follow-up (mean 18 months). There was full haemodynamic success at hospital discharge and at 12 and 24 months after the procedure. Clinical success at 12 and 24 months (mean 18 months) was defined as an improvement in the Fontaine classification by at least one class compared with the pre-procedure class and was shown to be 100%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In summary, we report that primary stenting is a safe and effective alternative to surgery in cases of symptomatic stenosis of the infrarenal abdominal aorta. The excellent intermediate term results suggested that we would recommend primary stenting as the treatment of choice for focal atherosclerotic stenoses of the infrarenal aorta in selected patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Pomeranian Medical University of Szczecin, SPSK-1, Unii Lubelskiej 1, 71-252, Szczecin, Poland. wponcyl@poczta.onet.pl
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Poncyljusz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falkowski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garncarek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karasek
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: England
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zawierucha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000628:therapy*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000628:therapy*; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D015607:Stents