Outcomes of covered kissing stent placement compared with bare metal stent placement in the treatment of atherosclerotic occlusive disease at the aortic bifurcation.

To review the outcomes with the use of balloon-expandable covered iliac kissing stents as compared with bare metal stents in the treatment of atherosclerotic disease at the aortic bifurcation.A review of consecutive patients from a single institution with atherosclerotic occlusive disease at the aortic bifurcation treated with balloon-expandable kissing stents was performed between January 1, 2002, and September 1, 2007. Fifty-four patients were identified and divided into two groups: those with bare metal stents and those with covered stents. Technical and clinical success (Fontaine classification), complications, and patency at follow-up were documented.Twenty-six patients (17 men, nine women; mean age, 61 years; age range, 39-79 years) received covered stents and 28 patients (15 men, 13 women; mean age, 61 years; age range, 38-82 years) received bare metal stents. Technical success was achieved in 100\% of patients in both groups. Major complications occurred in three of the 26 (11\%) with covered stents (P = .66) and two of the 28 patients (7\%) with bare metal stents. The median follow-up was 21 months (20 months for covered stents vs 25 months for bare metal stents; range, 1-62 months). Twenty-two of the 26 patients (85\%) with covered stents had sustained improvement in clinical symptoms during the follow-up period compared with 15 of the 28 patients (54\%) with bare metal stents (P = .02). Primary patency rates at 1 and 2 years were 92\% and 92\%, respectively, for covered stents and 78\% and 62\% for bare metal stents (P = .023).The use of covered balloon-expandable kissing stents for atherosclerotic aortic bifurcation occlusive disease provides superior patency at 2 years as compared with bare metal balloon-expandable stents.