Treatment of pelvic venous spur (May-Thurner syndrome) with self-expanding metallic endoprostheses

Purpose: The application of self-expanding metallic endoprostheses (stents) to treat symptomatic pelvic venous spurs as an alternative to surgery. Methods: Wallstents with a diameter from 14 to 16 mm and one Cragg stent were placed in the left common iliac vein of eight patients (seven women, one man; mean age 42 years) with a symptomatic pelvic venous spur (left deep venous thrombosis or post-thrombotic leg swelling). Four patients had surgical thrombectomy prior to stent placement. Results: Technical success with immediate reduction of left leg circumference was achieved in all eight patients, A primary patency rate of 100% was observed during an average follow-up of 3 years (range 10-121 months). There were no procedural or stent-related complications. Conclusion: The percutaneous transfemoral placement of self-expanding metallic stents is an effective minimally invasive alternative to surgery in the treatment of symptomatic pelvic venous spur.