Endovascular intervention for stenosis following carotid stent-supported angioplasty--a case report

This report is on a patient with symptomatic late restenosis after carotid stent-supported angioplasty (CSSA). Initially, the patient underwent carotid endarterectomy (CEA) with primary closure in response to an index transient ischemic attack 13 months before CSSA. He returned with angiographic evidence of recurrent carotid artery stenosis. A balloon-expandable stent was deployed with technical success. Follow-up angiography 1 year later showed an asymptomatic, noncritical in-stent restenosis (50%). Three years after the initial stent placement, the patient presented with ischemic symptoms and a carotid duplex confirming critical restenosis. The patient was successfully treated by deployment of a stent within a stent and showed significant hemodynamic improvement. This is a case report of late progressive restenosis, which raises concerns about long-term patency of CSSA in patients with aggressive postendarterectomy recurrence.