PRIMARY (DIRECT) CORONARY STENTING (STENTING WITHOUT PREDILATION)

Abstract

Background - The explosive increase in coronary stenting has made it the primary option for the treatment of many coronary lesions, especially after reducing the risk of subacute stent thrombosis and hemorrhagic complications. This technique is now considered as a promising new technique in highly selected lesions to reduce the time, cost, radiation exposure and dye used in the procedure. <br /> Method - In this study from January 1998 to March 2000, we prospectively studied 102 cases of primary coronary stenting in 96 patients according to pre-specified criteria (absence of severe calcification, angulation > 45⁰, occlusion, bifurcation, and vessel < 2.5 mm diameter). The impact of primary stenting in terms of cost, time, radiation and the amount of dye used was assessed in comparison to conventional stenting in our experience.<br /> Results- The stent crossed the lesions without predilation in 95 patients (94.3%) and was successfully deployed in all of them. Crossing the lesion was not successful in 7 patients (6.8%). In these cases the stent was retrieved uneventfully and deployed after predilation.<br /> Conclusion - Primary stenting appears to be applicable in selected lesions and seems to be safe and successful in reducing cost, time, radiation and the amount of dye used