Bridging with GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors after abdominal surgery in a patient presenting with late stent thrombosis of a drug-eluting stent and who cannot receive oral antiplatelet treatment.

Drug-eluting stents were designed to reduce neointimal hyperplasia and thus diminish the likelihood of coronary restenosis. They may, however, carry long-term risks such as delayed stent endothelization and arterial healing. Here we report a case of late stent thrombosis in a drug-eluting stent in the perioperative period after abdominal surgery in a patient who could not absorb oral antiplatelet agents and who was treated with a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonist. We will present issues related to discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy before non-cardiac surgery, coronary intervention in the perioperative period and the strategy for managing patients with stent thrombosis who cannot receive oral antiplatelet treatment.