Intravascular stenting for the treatment of coarctation of the aorta in adolescent and adult patients.

In the past 10 years, stent implantation has become a real alternative to surgery in the management of both native and recurrent coarctation of the aorta in adolescents and adults. The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed review of stent implantation techniques, including pre-procedure imaging, technical aspects and results. The success rate is usually high (around 90%), and the procedure results in an increase in the diameter of the coarcted segment, a decrease in the transisthmic systolic gradient and a better control of systemic hypertension. The most serious complication, rupture of the aorta, can be fatal, but is rare (< 2%). Aneurismal dilatation is another potential problem that occurs in around 5-9% of cases, and may be related to overstretching and pre-stent dilatation, so these should be avoided. It is necessary to point out that most of these aneurysms are small and conservatively managed. Restenosis is another complication that may result from neointimal proliferation, stent recoil and stent fracture. Balloon dilatation with a higher inflating pressure or repeat stent implantation is proposed herein. A comparison with surgery is also discussed, and a follow-up protocol is proposed to capture late complications. Owing to good initial and intermediate results, stent implantation is nowadays considered as a first-line therapy in most adolescents and adults with (re)coarctation of the aorta.