Does stent overlap influence the patency rate of aortoiliac kissing stents?

Andreas Greiner1, Hannes Mühlthaler, Beate Neuhauser

  • 1Department of Vascular Surgery, Medical University Innsbruck, Austria. andreas.greiner@uibk.ac.at

Insights

Kissing stent overlap in the distal aorta significantly impacts patency rates. Greater overlap in kissing stents correlates with lower primary and assisted primary patency for aortoiliac occlusive disease.

Area of Science:

  • Vascular Surgery
  • Interventional Cardiology
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Atherosclerotic aortoiliac occlusive disease is a common condition requiring revascularization.
  • Kissing stents are frequently used to treat aortoiliac occlusive disease, particularly at the aortic bifurcation.
  • The optimal positioning of kissing stents to maximize long-term patency remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between the positioning of kissing stents in the distal aorta and their subsequent patency rates.
  • To determine if the degree of proximal stent overlap influences the success of endovascular treatment for aortoiliac occlusive disease.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 41 patients treated with angioplasty and kissing stents for atherosclerotic aortoiliac occlusive disease.
  • Patients were categorized into "crossing" (overlap > half width) and "non-crossing" (overlap ≤ half width) groups based on post-interventional radiographs.
  • Life-table analysis was used to assess primary and assisted primary patency rates at 2 years.

Main Results:

  • Overall 2-year primary and assisted primary patency rates were 60.8% and 69.4%, respectively.
  • The "non-crossing" group demonstrated significantly higher 2-year primary (94.1%) and assisted primary (100%) patency rates compared to the "crossing" group (33.2% and 45.3%, respectively; p=0.01).
  • No significant differences in baseline demographics, morphology, or procedural variables were observed between the groups.

Conclusions:

  • The degree of proximal kissing stent overlap in the distal aorta is a critical factor influencing stent patency.
  • Increased overlap of kissing stent ends in the aortic bifurcation is associated with a significantly higher risk of stent failure.
  • Optimizing stent placement to minimize proximal overlap may improve long-term outcomes for patients undergoing kissing stent procedures.
Abstract