Kissing stents in the aortic bifurcation

We report the first series of simultaneously delivered stents used to treat stenosis of the aortic bifurcation. Surgical treatment of aortoiliac occlusive disease carries up to a 3% mortality rate. Percutaneous balloon techniques to treat aortic bifurcation stenosis, although safer, are still associated with up to a 9% incidence of dissection, thrombosis, or significant residual stenosis. Kissing stent insertion should decrease the incidence of these complications.

Twenty patients underwent kissing stent insertion. Suitable candidates included patients with symptoms of lower limb ischemia and significant atherosclerotic lesions in both ostial common iliac arteries (n = 15) or with extremely complex single ostial iliac stenoses (n = 5). Palmaz stents were delivered simultaneously to both limbs of the aortic bifurcation.

Kissing stent insertion was successfully performed in all 20 patients without acute complications. Mean percent stenosis decreased from 46.2%+/-24.8% to -6.8%+/-13.3% (P = .0001) in the right iliac artery, 42.3%+/-22.8% to -1.6% +/-18.1% (P = .0001) in the left iliac artery, and 19.1%+/-16.6% to 2.3%+/-16.4% (P= .0008) in the distal aorta. Intermittent claudication symptoms were improved in 18 (95%) of 19 patients with 12 (63%) of 19 patients becoming totally asymptomatic. The strongest predictor of clinical outcome after kissing stent insertion was the preprocedural extent of femoropopliteal disease: 8 (89%) of 9 patients with femoropopliteal narrowing <75% bilaterally became completely asymptomatic at follow-up compared with only 3 (30%) of 10 patients with more severe stenoses (P = .02).

We have demonstrated in 20 patients that stenoses of the aortic bifurcation can be treated effectively with kissing stents with few serious adverse events.