Midterm outcomes of paclitaxel-eluting stents for the treatment of intracranial posterior circulation stenoses

Brendan Steinfort, Perry P. Ng*, Kenneth Faulder, Timothy Harrington, Verity Grinnell, William Sorby, Michael K. Morgan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Object. Symptomatic intracranial vertebral and basilar artery atherosclerotic stenoses carry a high risk of stroke and permanent disability if refractory to maximal medical therapy. The authors conducted a study to determine the technical feasibility and midterm clinical and angiographic outcomes in patients in whom paclitaxel-eluting stents were placed for the treatment of symptomatic intracranial posterior circulation stenoses. Methods. A retrospective review of medical records and imaging studies was performed for 13 consecutive patients in whom paclitaxel-coated stents were used to treat symptomatic posterior circulation intracranial stenoses between 2002 and 2005. Clinical follow-up data were supplemented by telephone interviews. The technical success rate for stent placement was 100%. One patient (8%) suffered a periprocedural stroke. Twelve patients (92%) underwent clinical follow up for a minimum of 3 months postsurgery, and 11 (92%) of these patients remained asymptomatic after a mean period of 10.9 months. Nine patients (69%) underwent catheter angiographic follow up, and no patient had significant in-stent recurrence of stenosis after a mean period of 5.4 months. Conclusions. Treatment of intracranial posterior circulation stenoses with drug-eluting stents is technically feasible, and the rate of clinically significant periprocedural complications is low. Rates of stenosis recurrence are reduced compared with those of bare-metal stents in the midterm. Midterm clinical outcome is excellent; no symptom recurrence was observed in this patient cohort.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)222-225
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Neurosurgery
Volume106
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2007
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Midterm outcomes of paclitaxel-eluting stents for the treatment of intracranial posterior circulation stenoses'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this