A Case of Extremely Very Late Stent Thrombosis 8 Years after Implantation of Drug-Eluting Stent Observed by Intravascular Ultrasound

Abstract

Drug-eluting stents (DES) are now widely used for patients with coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. The current major agenda for using DES is very late stent thrombosis (VLST) that occurs beyond 1 year after DES implantation. Although VLST is rare, it is a serious complication that can result in sudden death or myocardial infarction. Until now, there have been only a few case reports of VLST within 7 years. We report a case of a 78-year-old man who presented with an ST segment elevation myocardial infarction due to extremely very late stent thrombosis resulting from a mal-apposed stent and delayed neointimal coverage that occurred 8 years after stent implantation after the cessation of antiplatelet agents for 10 days.