Lost Stent

Posted By  CCF CARDIO MD  - SK on November 16, 1997 at 23:53:05:

In Reply to: Lost Stent posted by Sue Blake on October 29, 1997 at 23:10:55:

: Recently my husband underwent coronary stent implantation.  It was
  successful. Prior to this implantation, another attempt was made on
  the same day, that was unsuccessful. According to the doctor, the
  deployment balloon failed, due to a hole in the balloon.  The doctor
  managed to get the stent below the abdominal artery, where he lost
  it. Despite reassurances from the doctor that the stent will most
  likely lodge somewhere in my husband's right leg, we are still
  uncertain.  Is this incident going to cause him problems in the
  future?  He is taking Ticlid now to prevent platelets from forming,
  but what happens when he stops taking it?  Is he going to have more
  problems with claudication, or venous leg ulcers?  What about blood
  clots forming around the lost stent and breaking off and traveling
  to other sites.  It seems to me that if something is blocking blood
  flow and depriving that area of oxygen, that area will eventually
  become necrotic. What kind of problems are we in for?  Thank You!

[CCF CARDIO MD SK]

_
Dear Sue,
As explained by your physician, the lost stent will travel downstream from where it was lost. Most likely it will lodge in one of the small arteries of leg. The complications from this usually are acute. Fortunately, your husband did not have any problem in his legs acutely. This suggests that the sent has probably traveled to a small vessel without major functional significance. The long term consequences from this are rare. It is very unlikely to get claudications or such symptoms of arterial insufficiency from this as the stent is very small in diameter and usually goes to a small blood vessel without major functional consequence. Venous ulcers can not occur from this as the stent is on the arterial side of the circulation and so can not jeopardize the venous flow.
I hope I have adequately responded to your concern. Information provided in the Heart Forum is intended for general medical informational purposes only. Actual diagnosis and treatment of any particular medical condition can only be made by your family physician(s).