Balloon dilation and stent implant through the side of a previously placed intravascular stent: a new option for the interventionalist.

Intravascular stent placement for relief of vascular stenoses often requires that a stent be positioned across the origin of side-branch vessels. Most currently available peripheral vascular stents have a closed-cell design that will not allow catheter manipulation, dilation, or stenting through the stent cells. Therefore, if a side branch arising off a previously stented vessel is stenotic or if its origin has been compromised, transcatheter dilation of the branch vessel has not been possible. We report a series of successful balloon dilation and stent placement through the sides (cells) of previously placed IntraStent DoubleStrut LD stents in the aortic arch and abdominal aorta of pigs. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.