Thrombus-containing lesions (TCL) are associated with lower initial success rates and higher restenosis rates after balloon dilation. Furthermore, it has been considered as an absolute contraindication of coronary stenting. With advances in antithrombotic regimens and implantation techniques, coronary stenting has been widened to lesions with adverse morphologic features or to patients with acute coronary syndrome. Here we report the early clinical and angiographic results of coronary stenting in TCL.

We studied 24 consecutive patients (58±8 years, 18 males) undergoing coronary stenting in TCL. Fifteen patients (63%) were treated for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 9 (37%) for unstable angina. Stenting was performed as the primary therapy in 23 patients (96%) and secondary after angioplasty failure in I patient (4%).

1) Twenty-five stents were deployed successfully in all 24 patients with TCL. Distal flow with TIMI grade 3 was obtained immediately in 21 patients (88%). Ventricular fibrillation occurred in 3 patients (13%) during the procedure-related death or emergency bypass surgery did not occur. Marked CK elevation (over 5000U/L) was observed in 5 patients (21%) with AMI who underwent primary stenting. Two of these 5 patients (8%) had distal flow with TIMI grade 2 consistent with distal embolization, and one (4%) had distal flow with TIMI grade 0, suggesting acute stent occlusion. All 24 patients (100%) were event-free and showed clinical improvement at the last follow-up visit (71±15 days). 2) Quantitative angiography demonstrated excellent angiographic results after stenting (minimal luminal diameter 0.3±0.3 vs. 3.4±0.3mm, diameter stenosis 90.1±10.7 vs. -13.3±8.1%, p<0.005 respectively). Acute gain was 3.1±0.3mm (p<0.005).

With low incidents of complications, coronary stenting could be used successfully for select patients with TCL as a primary therapeutic option under aggressive antithrombotic therapy. Although early clinical results were excellent, the long-term benefits remain to be established.