Background: Stenting for symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease is a therapeutic option in patients in whom medical therapy fails.
Objective: To determine the periprocedural complication rates and mid-term restenosis rates in patients treated with balloon-expandable stents (BESs) compared with self-expanding stents (SESs).
Methods: A retrospective review of consecutive patients treated with intracranial stents at 5 institutions was performed. Predictors of 30-day stroke and death as well as mid-term restenosis rates were analyzed.
Results: A total of 670 lesions were treated in 637 patients with a mean age of 57 ± 13 years. A total of 454 lesions (68%) were treated with BESs and 216 lesions (32%) with SESs. The overall 30-day periprocedural complication rate was 6.1%, without any difference noted between the 2 groups. Patients treated within 24 hours of the index event were significantly more likely to have experienced a periprocedural complication (odds ratio [OR], 4.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-6.7; P < .007), whereas focal lesions were less likely to have a complication (OR, 0.31; 95% CI: 0.13-0.72; P < .001). Midterm restenosis was less likely in patients with a lower percentage of posttreatment stenosis (OR, 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95-0.99; P < .006), which was more common in BES-treated patients and focal concentric lesions (OR, 0.33; 95% CI: 0.23-0.55; P < .0001).
Conclusion: BESs have periprocedural complication rates similar to those of SESs. Less posttreatment stenosis was associated with lower rates of mid-term restenosis. Future randomized trials comparing BESs and SESs may help to identify the stent type that is safest and most durable.