Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the outcome of stent placement (SP) for conduit discrete stenosis using predefined criteria.
Background: Right ventricle (RV) to pulmonary artery (PA) conduits are often associated with complications, such as stenosis, requiring multiple surgical replacements.
Methods: Patients who underwent primary or repeat SP were included. Indications for SP were clinical symptoms and/or RV to systolic blood pressure (SBP) ratio (RV:SBP) >0.65 by echocardiography. Our definition of success was a decrease in RV:SBP by >20%, a final RV:SBP ratio of <0.65, or resolution of symptoms.
Results: Stents were placed successfully in 28 of 31 patients (90%), including 3 patients who underwent the procedure solely for symptoms. The RV:SBP ratio decreased (0.75 +/- 0.17 vs. 0.52 +/- 0.12, p < 0.001), and the conduit diameter increased (postero-anterior 9.1 +/- 2.9 vs. 12.0 +/- 2.8 mm, lateral 8.3 +/- 2.2 vs. 11.6 +/- 2.4 mm, p < 0.001). In the 28 patients with successful SP, 8 (29%) remained free from second intervention. In the remaining patients, the median time to re-intervention was 16 months (range 6 to 44 months). Second transcatheter interventions (4 SP, 4 balloon dilation) were successful in 8 of 13 patients. Complications included balloon rupture (n = 4), stent fracture (n = 2), and pseudoaneurysm formation (n = 1).
Conclusions: Initial SP has excellent intermediate outcomes, successfully postponing surgical intervention for the majority of patients. Conduit restenosis may be successfully treated with a second transcatheter intervention. On the basis of these data, SP is likely the procedure of choice for patients with a discrete stenosis of the RV to PA conduit.