Iliac artery stent placement: clinical experience with a nitinol stent.

Abstract

To determine the effectiveness of a prototype nitinol stent in the iliac arteries. Fourteen patients with arteriosclerotic lesions of the iliac arteries (nine stenoses, five occlusions) were treated percutaneously with a prototype nitinol vascular stent (Cragg stent) after unsuccessful percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. In 13 patients available for follow-up, the mean ankle-brachial index (ABI) increased from 0.4 +/- 0.32 (standard deviation) before the procedure to 0.81 +/- 0.27 after the procedure (P < .01). After 6, 12, and 24 months, the mean ABI was 0.97 +/- 0.2, 0.87 +/- 0.15, and 0.89 +/- 0.1, respectively. In two patients, radial stiffness of the stent was too low to completely eliminate a high-grade, calcified stenosis; long-term patency of the vessel, however, was preserved. In all other patients, stent placement achieved good vascular reconstitution. No stent occlusion or restenosis was observed. The results with the Cragg stent were similar to those with other commercially available stents. These preliminary results require confirmation with a larger series.