Endovascular treatment of embolization of aortic plaque with covered stents.

Spontaneous atheroembolization from aortic plaque can lead to organ dysfunction and limb loss. With discrete offending lesions, surgical treatment has been recommended. Although endovascular treatment with angioplasty or stenting has been reported, concerns about destabilizing atheromatous material with catheter manipulation are well founded. Covered stents may obviate this risk. We report herein two patients with embolizing infrarenal aortic plaque successfully treated with these devices.