Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of electively placed heparin-coated stents in the treatment of coronary saphenous vein bypass grafts with de novo lesions less than 15 mm in diameter in a prospective study with all eligible consecutive patients presenting to Middelheim Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium between September 1997 and August 1998.
Patients and methods: Fifty patients with 53 lesions were studied. Anginal class, risk factors, quantitative coronary angiographic measurements pre- and postprocedure, procedural outcome, in-hospital events, clinical status on discharge, and six-month clinical and angiographic follow-up (in 48 patients) were recorded. All patients received acetylsalicylic acid and ticlopidine, unless known intolerance was present.
Results: On average, 1.1 stents/patient were placed in very old saphenous vein grafts (11. 7+/-3.9 years). Procedural success was 98%. Only two non-Q wave myocardial infarctions (MIs) occurred, with no Q-wave MIs and no deaths during hospital stay. Length of hospital stay was short (2. 4+/-1.7 days), and 96% of patients were free of angina on discharge. At six-months' follow-up, two patients had died, one of whom died of a noncardiac cause. One patient suffered a non-Q wave MI. At six months, 86% of patients were free from angina. Minimal luminal diameter decreased from 1.14 mm before to 3.33 mm after stenting and to 2.52 mm at six months. Restenosis was present in 22% of patients (21.6% of lesions).
Conclusions: In a selected population with coronary saphenous vein bypass graft disease, Wiktor heparin-coated stents can be delivered with an excellent periprocedural outcome. Six-month outcome appears favourable with a low recurrence of angina (18%) and a low rate of angiographic restenosis (21.6%).