Long term clinical and angiographic outcomes with the Wingspan stent for treatment of symptomatic 50-99% intracranial atherosclerosis: single center experience in 51 cases

Background and aim: Two independent post-approval registries have reported favorable periprocedural and short term outcomes with the use of the Wingspan stent for treatment of intracranial arterial stenosis. Data on long term clinical and imaging outcomes after Wingspan stent placement are limited. Methods: All patients treated with the Wingspan stent in a single academic center from January 2006 to February 2008 were identified. Data on stenting indication, severity of stenosis, technical success, re-stenosis and clinical outcome were collected. Results: 51 patients were treated with the Wingspan stent system for a symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis of 50-99%. The technical success rate was 98%. The mean pre- and post-stent stenoses were 73 (11)% and 21 (7)%. Any stroke or death within 24 h of the procedure occurred in 1/51 (2%). The frequency of any stroke or death within 30 days or ipsilateral stroke beyond 30 days was 5/51 (10.0%) at a mean follow-up time of 14.6 months (range 8-30). The frequency of >= 50% re-stenosis on follow-up imaging was 7/29 (24%) at 8.6 (4.4) months (range 3-20); all were detected on the initial imaging within 3-6 months, and only one was symptomatic. Conclusion: The use of the Wingspan stent in patients with >= 50% symptomatic intracranial stenosis is associated with good long term clinical outcome. One stroke occurred after the first 30 days, suggesting a significant stabilization of the adverse event rate after the first month.