Prospective evaluation of endoluminal venous stents in the treatment of the May-Thurner syndrome.

The May-Thurner syndrome is an acquired stenosis of the left common iliac vein causing pain, edema, or deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The patency and behavior of endoluminal venous stents for this condition was evaluated in this study. Patients with the May-Thurner lesion treated with endoluminal stenting from 1997 to 2000 were evaluated according to an institutional review board-approved protocol. Wallstents (n = 14) or Smart stents (n = 1) were placed into the left common iliac. Patency was evaluated with duplex ultrasonography using a 5 mHz linear array probe (HP 4500) at 6-month intervals. Our results showed that treatment of the May-Thurner syndrome with endoluminal stenting is associated with low morbidity and high patency rates. Longitudinal evaluation of this group of patients is ongoing to confirm these findings.