Purpose: To determine the nature of the changes of the vascular wall after intravascular brachytherapy in stented arteries leading to incomplete stent apposition.
Methods and materials: Stents were implanted in the infrarenal aortas of rabbits, and gamma-intravascular brachytherapy (18 Gy) or a sham radiation procedure was immediately implemented. The arteries were harvested at 6 months for histologic analyses.
Results: The external elastic lamina area, as well as the vascular wall area behind the stent, were significantly greater in irradiated vs. control arteries (8.94 +/- 0.68 mm2 vs. 6.87 +/- 0.40 mm2 [p <0.001] and 1.56 +/- 0.13 mm2 vs. 0.72 +/- 0.07 mm2 [p <0.001], respectively). The ratio of the intimal area behind the stent related to the total intimal area was greater in the irradiated segments (control vs. irradiated: 9.0% +/- 5.9% vs. 55.3% +/- 15.5%, p <0.05). Neointimal growth of the irradiated vessels outside the stent was characterized by marked fibrin depositions and an inflammatory response around the stent struts.
Conclusion: Our study revealed the presence of a neointimal layer specifically located behind the stent, which represented the result of an unhealed fibrin-rich tissue growth process 6 months after intravascular brachytherapy.