Use of heparin-coated stents in neurovascular interventional procedures: preliminary experience with 10 patients.
OBJECTIVE
Currently, there is minimal published data on the use of heparin-coated stents in the neurovasculature; however, these stents have a proven clinical record in the treatment of coronary disease. This article details our experience with the safety and technical aspects of stent deployment in the first 10 patients who had heparin-coated stents placed in the intracranial and cervical vasculature and the preliminary follow-up in most cases.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the clinical history, intra- and periprocedural data, and imaging for the patients who received heparin-coated stents in the cervical and intracranial vasculature for cerebrovascular disease between October 2002 and October 2003.


RESULTS
Thirteen heparin-coated stents were placed in 10 patients. Seven out of the 10 patients had heparin-coated stents placed in the posterior circulation; the remaining three patients had stents placed in the anterior circulation. Four patients had stents placed intracranially. There was no acute or subacute in-stent thrombosis and no procedure-related complications. Follow-up was performed on most patients, with no clinical symptoms attributable to restenosis in any patient.


CONCLUSIONS
This small series suggests that heparin-coated stents are safe for use in the treatment of cervical and intracranial atherosclerotic disease. Longer-term follow-up is needed to study the heparin coating effect on in-stent restenosis rates and to assess the long-term durability and clinical efficacy of this stent. The use of drug-coated stents in the cerebrovascular circulation is an area that warrants further investigation.
Parkinson
Richard J
RJ
Department of Neurosurgery, St. Vincents Clinic, Sydney, Australia.
Demers
Christopher P
CP
Adel
Joseph G
JG
Levy
Elad I
EI
Sauvageau
Eric
E
Hanel
Ricardo A
RA
Shaibani
Ali
A
Guterman
Lee R
LR
Hopkins
L Nelson
LN
Batjer
H Hunt
HH
Bendok
Bernard R
BR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000628:therapy; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000628:therapy; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005260:Female; D006493:Heparin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000098:blood supply; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000925:Anticoagulants; D006493:Heparin