[Intracoronary stents. Experience from the Feiring clinic]

There are two major problems connected to percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA): acute closure of the vessel during the procedure and a high rate of late restenosis. Deployment of intracoronary stents has emerged as a procedure that can counteract these difficulties. At the Feiring Clinic 158 patients were treated with intracoronary stents in 1992 and 1993. In 87% of the patients no in-hospital cardiac events occurred. The overall mortality rate was 1.8%. Thrombosis of the stent occurred in 5.7% of the patients and acute myocardial infarction in 5.1%. Emergency bypass operation was performed in 5.1%. The most important predictor for clinical success was a good angiographic appearance after deployment of stent. It is concluded that stent deployment has improved the immediate outcome of a complicated PTCA procedure, and it is likely that it also will reduce the rate of restenosis.