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Luminal diameter and vasa vasorum response to stent dilation in the rabbit aorta
L G Sahler1, T W Morris, K N Owusu
1Department of Radiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, NY 14642-8648, USA.
Rationale And Objectives:
We examined the changes in luminal diameter and vasa vasorum after stent dilation of the aorta of nonatherosclerotic rabbits.
Methods:
Balloon-expandable stents were placed in the aortas of rabbits at the L3 level and were expanded. After 8 weeks, the rabbits were euthanized, perfused with barium sulfate particles, frozen, sectioned, and X-rayed.
Results:
The luminal intrastent diameter (2.3 +/- 0.23 mm) was significantly different (p < .05) from the expanded stent diameter but was not different from the luminal diameter above (2.3 +/- 0.53 mm) and below (1.9 +/- 0.18 mm) the stent. The number of vasa vasorum at the stent (46 +/- 7.2) was significantly increased compared with above (21 +/- 4.8, p < .001) and below (14.4 +/- 4.6, p < .001) the stent.
Conclusion:
After 8 weeks, luminal diameter was uniform. The increased vasa vasorum in the stented section suggested an increase in blood flow to the aortic wall, which may be important to the remodeling process.