Carotid artery stenting: Clinical and procedural implications for near-occlusion stenosis

The advisability of implanting a stent in carotid near-occlusion stenosis is a controversial topic. We have assessed procedural and clinical implications of stent implantation for carotid artery disease with near occlusion. We included 205 patients who underwent carotid artery revascularisation with a stent. The group of patients with near-occlusion stenosis (n=54) was compared to the rest of the population (n=151). No differences were found between groups for age, sex, and the percentage of symptomatic patients (three-quarters of the population). Carotid stent revascularisation for near-occlusion stenosis presented a high procedural success rate (96%) similar to that of revascularisation processes for other lesions (98%). Stenting in cases of near-occlusion stenosis required increased use of proximal protection (54% vs. 20.5%, P