Background: Carotid angioplasty and stenting is gaining popularity as an alternative to carotid endarterectomy for the treatment of carotid bifurcation stenosis. The major concern with the procedure is the risk of embolic stroke which may be initiated by balloon angioplasty of friable atherosclerotic plaque. Elimination of angioplasty may result in a lower incidence of embolic complications.
Method: We describe a case in which a self-expanding stent alone, without balloon angioplasty, was used to successfully dilate an atherosclerotic stenosis of the carotid bifurcation.
Results: A moderate increase in vessel diameter, from 75% to 50%, was immediately observed after stent placement alone. No embolic complications were observed and follow-up plain film and ultrasound examinations showed progressive stent enlargement with excellent anatomic and hemodynamic results.
Conclusions: In this case of severe carotid stenosis, the use of a self-expanding stent alone, without balloon angioplasty, resulted in excellent anatomic and hemodynamic improvement.