Late coronary artery stenosis regression within the Gianturco-Roubin intracoronary stent

The late angiographic outcome of the Gianturco-Roubin intracoronary stent has not been well defined, To investigate serial changes within the stent, we studied 23 patients (15 men and 8 women median age 63) who angiographic follow-up (> 1 year) after undergoing Gianturco-Roubin stenting for angioplasty-associated acute or threatened native coronary artery closure, Coronary angiography before and after stenting, at 6-month follow-up, and at late return was analyzed with quantitative coronary angiography. The median time from stent deployment to late angiographic follow-up was 27 months, As expected, stenting significantly increased the median minimal lumen diameter (MLD) acutely from 1.0 to 2.46 mm, Median percent diameter stenosis decreased from 66% to 18%, Although at 6 months there was a significant loss of the acute gain (median MLD decreased from 2.46 to 1.9 mm), with a corresponding increase in percent stenosis from 18% to 31%, fate angiography demonstrated lesion regression, median MLD increasing from 1.9 to 2.15 mm (p = 0.004), and percent stenosis decreasing from 31% to 21% (p = 0.0026), No patient had a significant decline in minimal lesion diameter, and 5 patients had a >50% increase in MLD at late follow-up, Linear regression analysis of 6-month MLD and late lumen gain suggested that lesions with the greatest regression were those with the lowest lumen diameters at 6-month angiography. Late angiographic analysis demonstrated significant lesion regression within the Gianturco-Roubin stent, which was sometimes dramatic, In suggesting that coronary arteriography at 6 months may underestimate the late angiographic benefit of intracoronary stenting, these data have important clinical implications, and imply that patients with a stable clinical course and angiographic stent restenosis may often be followed rather than routinely redilated.