Aim: We assessed the safety and effectiveness of the Enterprise stent in treating atherosclerotic intracranial arterial stenosis (AIAS).
Material and methods: This was a retrospective study conducted with 60 consecutive patients with 62 AIAS lesions who received the Enterprise stent at the Department of Neurosurgery, Second Hospital of Shandong University between June 2012 and January 2014. All patients were assessed using the modified Rankin scoring system at discharge. Clinical follow-ups and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were performed at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively.
Results: There were 42 men and 18 women with a mean age of 56.8 ± 8.0 years. Fourteen lesions (22.6%) were at the anterior and 48 (77.4 %) were at the posterior circulation. The mean stenosis rate was 76.3 ± 12.7%. The mean stenotic vessel length was 7.7 ± 2.0 mm. The technical success rate was 100%. The mean post-stent residual stenosis rate was 22.8 ± 4.8%. Five patients (8.3%) had perioperative complications, but no disability or mortality occurred within 30 days. The mean follow-up duration was 6.2 months. DSA was used to evaluate 45 lesions (72.6%) six months postoperatively: 6 (13.3%) had postoperative restenoses, 2 at the anterior circulation, and 4 at the posterior circulation. Of these 6, 4 (66.7%) were immediate residual stenoses after stenting. The residual stenosis rate was identified as a risk factor for restenosis. Five (8.3%) ischemic events, consistent with the vascular lesions, occurred.
Conclusion: Application of the Enterprise stent was safe and efficacious. The technical success rate was high while the perioperative complication rate was low.