Objectives: The high complication rate associated with the surgical treatment of post-carotid endarterectomy restenosis has led several investigators to propose stent-assisted angioplasty as the treatment of choice for this condition. Late restenosis is very infrequent and mainly due to atherosclerotic progression. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential risk of intraprocedural embolic stroke during stent-assisted angioplasty with cerebral protection devices in these patients.
Methods: We describe our recent experience in the endovascular treatment of 10 patients presenting late carotid restenosis by means of stent-assisted angioplasty with the aid of a filter cerebral protection device. Mean elapsed time from surgery to angioplasty was 92+/-31 months (range 48-144 months).
Results: Procedural success was obtained in all the cases. Pre-dilation was performed in six cases, post-dilation in all the cases. The mean percentage stenosis was reduced from mean 77+/-12% (range 60-95%) to 6.3+/-6.7% (range 0-17%). Bradycardia while inflating the balloon was mild-to-moderate in seven cases and severe in two. No patient sustained stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) during the procedure or during hospital stay. On follow-up, two patients presented with moderate asymptomatic restenosis and were managed conservatively.
Discussion: Carotid angioplasty with cerebral protection can be performed safely in late carotid restenosis with a high technical success rate. No clinical embolic complications occurred in this subset of patients. With recent innovations and improvements in angioplasty technique, previous indications for angioplasty in these patients will have to be redefined. Carotid angioplasty seems to be a valuable treatment alternative to conventional surgery in this subset of patients.