Gianturco stents for the venous system: a detailed pathological study

This study was designed to examine the short-term performance of Gianturco stents placed in the venous system, in comparison with that of stents placed in the arterial system. Single-bodied modified Gianturco stents were surgically placed in six dogs (group 1), while in another six dogs, only exposure of the vessels was performed (group 2). Segments with an outer diameter 0.9 times smaller than those of the stents were targeted in the infrarenal inferior vena cava (IVC), the portal vein (PV), and the infrarenal abdominal aorta (AA). The animals were killed 4 weeks postoperatively for pathological analysis. All the segments were patent in both groups. Although the stents placed in the infrarenal IVC and PV were completely covered with neointima, those placed in the infrarenal AA were only partially covered. Furthermore, the venous stents were deeply embedded in the media, while the aortic stents remained in the intima. Medial hyperplasia occurred in the venous stents, while intimal hyperplasia occurred in the aortic stents. In conclusion, Gianturco stents placed in the IVC and PV performed better in the short term than the stents placed in the AA.