Endovascular treatment of carotid atherosclerotic disease: early and late outcome in a non-selected population.

BACKGROUND: Carotid angioplasty and stenting are still not widely accepted treatments for carotid stenosis. This registry was aimed at investigating the efficacy of endovascular therapy of the extracranial carotid arteries in a non-selected population. METHODS: One hundred nineteen consecutive patients (93 males and 26 females, mean age 70.4 +/- 7.2 years) were enrolled to undergo percutaneous angioplasty and/or stenting of the extracranial carotid artery. The primary endpoint of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of carotid elective angioplasty and stenting in a "real life group" of patients (> 50 years, without strict target vessel selection or inclusion criteria) with carotid occlusive disease. During a 6-12 month follow-up period late major adverse events were evaluated, either related to the endovascular treatment or due to other pathological conditions. RESULTS: Percutaneous procedure was effective in 118/119 patients (99.16%). Procedural success rate was 99.16%, in-hospital major neurological symptomatic complications 0%, in-hospital minor neurological symptomatic complications 3.36% (two minor strokes, one transient ischemic attack and one subarachnoid hemorrhage). The follow-up observation time ranged from 6 to 36 months following the percutaneous procedure. Overall follow-up data showed absence of late major adverse events related to carotid disease (stroke, permanent neurological damage, death), in-stent restenosis 5.04%, balloon expandable stent crush 0.84%, stent migration 0.84%. CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirm that percutaneous dilation and stenting of the carotid artery represent an effective method which, during the periprocedural phase and the follow-up, does not expose the patient to any greater risk of complications than traditional surgery.