Stent fracture after endoluminal repair of a carotid artery pseudoaneurysm.

PURPOSE: To present a case in which a covered stent fractured 7 months after implantation in the internal carotid artery (ICA). CASE REPORT: A 59-year-old man presented with a large traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the left ICA. Seven months after successful treatment with a covered Symbiot stent, clinical complaints recurred because the pseudoaneurysm recanalized due to fracture of the stent at its midsection. Surgical stent explantation was needed, with polytetrafluoroethylene graft reconstruction of the ICA. No complications occurred in the periprocedural period. A control duplex scan 12 months later showed exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm and no graft-related complications.
CONCLUSIONS: This case demonstrates an as yet unreported complication of stent-grafting in a carotid artery.