“Milking” of the left anterior descending coronary artery after stenting

Abstract Stenting of the coronary arteries is a new and expanding therapeutic technique in the treatment of selected patients with coronary heart disease. 1 Coronary sterits were introduced as a means of preventing coronary occlusion and restenosis after percutaneous trarislumihal coronary angioplasty. 2 These devices are also used in a “bail-out” situation for the management of complications secondary to conventional dilatation procedures. However, subsequent studies demonstrated that restenosis was also found after coronary stenting and that these prosthetic devices may predispose patients undergoing these procedures to acute thrombotic complications if they are not receiving aggressive treatment with both anticoagulants and platelet inhibitors. 3 We describe herein 1 patient who developed “de novo” coronary milking after a stent implantation and 2 additional patients in whom mild systolic narrowing of the coronary arteries evolved to complete systolic luminal obliteration after coronary stenting.