Long-term results after placement of aortic bifurcation self-expanding stents: 10 year mortality, stent restenosis, and distal disease progression

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the 10 year follow-up results in patients who had “kissing” self-expanding stent aortic bifurcation reconstruction.
Methods: Forty-three patients were treated with “kissing” self-expanding stents for aortoiliac occlusive disease. Early follow-up with clinical and ankle brachial pressure indices (ABPI) was performed at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months and with intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography at 12-24 months; clinical and angiographic follow-up was performed for symptom recurrence up to 10 years after treatment. Retrospective record review was performed to assess mortality, clinical patency, angiographic patency, and secondary assisted patency of both stents and downstream peripheral vessels at 5 and 10 years follow-up.
Results: The 2 year primary angiographic and secondary assisted stent patencies were 89% and 93%, respectively. At 10 years follow-up in 40 patients the mortality was 38% (due to myocardial infarction, stroke, chronic renal failure, malignancy, and liver failure). At 5 and 10 years follow-up the primary clinical stent patency was 82% and 68%, and the secondary assisted stent patency 93% and 86%, respectively. At 5 and 10 years, the distal vessel patency was 86% and 72%, and the secondary assisted distal vessel patency treated by surgical or endovascular techniques was 94% and 88%, respectively. At 10 years there was no limb loss.
Conclusion: The long-term (10 year) results of aortic bifurcation arterial self-expanding stent placement in patients with arterial occlusive disease show a 10 year primary stent patency rate of 68% but a secondary assisted patency rate of 86%. In addition there is a high overall mortality due to other cardiovascular causes and the rate of distal disease progression and loss of patency is similar to the loss of stent patency rate.