Lliac artery stenting shows good long-term results

Endovascular stenting as the initial treatment for patients with occluded iliac arteries has been shown to be both safe and cost-effective by more than five years of follow-up in the Dutch Iliac Stent Trial.

Dr. Willemijn M. Klein and colleagues retrospectively reviewed 143 patients who underwent primary stent placement and 136 who underwent primary angioplasty followed by selective stent placement. They found no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the number of reinterventions, additional cardiovascular events, or mortality.

The real danger for these patients is cardiovascular complications leading to fatal episodes, according to a study in the August issue of Radiology. Peripheral artery disease should thus be considered a marker of potentially dangerous atherosclerotic disease elsewhere in the body, the researchers said.