Barotrauma due to stent deployment in endovascular brachytherapy for restenosis prevention

Purpose: In this study, the effect of barotrauma due to stent deployment is investigated for several commonly used commercial stents used in endovascu lar brachytherapy for restenosis prevention. Methods and Materials: Restenosis due to intimal hyperplasia can occur anyw here along the clinical target volume, which is defined as the length of ve ssel receiving intervention or injury. The injury may be due to angioplasty , atherectomy (tissue removing), stenting, and stent deployment. Manufactur er specifications for several commonly used stents were reviewed and the re sults were tabulated. Results: The barotrauma length of stents reviewed in this study ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 mm; the average was 1.7 mm. Conclusions: By considering specific barotrauma into the treatment length, one can provide adequate treatment margins to minimize edge failure or to a void "geographic miss," which may improve the efficacy of endovascular brac hytherapy. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.