To study the
safety and
efficacy of covered
stents in
angioplasty of
saphenous vein grafts a
retrospective study was carried out among 12 consecutive cases admitted at the
cardiology unit of Nizam's Institute of Medical
Sciences during last 3 years.
Angioplasty of
saphenous vein grafts is a challenging task due to the different
nature of the
disease in
vein grafts compared to the native
coronary arteries. The lesions in
vein grafts are more often diffuse and have considerable loose atherothrombotic material that is prone for distal embolisation, resulting in slow flow/no reflow and myocardial damage. Use of covered
stents for
saphenous vein grafts appears to be feasible and safe.