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Current Postings on This Page (6):
• Ginger -- the CT Angiogram should have shown
if the stent was in place and the artery open. (Alternatively, a standard
invasive angiogram done on the catheterization lab could be done.) A fractured
stent might
cause some obstruction to the blood flow, but after 6 years, it should
have been
incorporated
into the arterial lining (by the way, CYPHER stents are for the coronary
arteries and are not used to treat carotid arteries -- there are specific
stents that have been approved
for
this
use over
the past few years -- are you sure this was a CYPHER stent??) -- there
may be other explanations for the numbness.
Forum Editor, Angioplasty.Org, March 10, 2010
• Hi this is very frightening. I had a cypher stent
put in my carotid artery in 2004. What are the symptoms of a fractured
stent?..I have been experiencing numbness for the past two weeks in my
neck, had a sonogram and a C-scan and they did not find anything unusual.
But if anyone could please tell me what were their symptoms I would feel
a lot better. Thank you for sharing your experiences. If it were not
for these posts a lot of people are left with what the doctors never tell
you
and won't. Thanks for reading this.
Ginger, Alexandria, Virginia, USA, March 4, 2010
• David S. -- as we stated a couple years ago (below)
stent fracture has been considered a relatively rare phenomenon -- occurring
in approximately 1-2% of drug-eluting stents (DES). However, a recent
paper, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology,
examined
stents in an autopsy registry of DES and found a much higher rate of
29%! The study, titled "Incidence
and Predictors of Drug-Eluting Stent Fracture in Human Coronary Artery" by
Dr. Gaku Nakazawa et al, challenges the conventional understanding of
this failure and also revealed some predictors of stent fracture. They
were: (1) Cypher stents, which had a higher rate of fracture; (2) overlapping
stents, sometimes used when one stent is not long enough to cover the
diseased area; and (3) long stents. The fractures were graded from I
to V
in severity. It was only the highest grade V where the result was dangerous
-- grade V is where the stent broke and a gap occurred -- approximately
5% of the stents showed grade V fractures. We'd also point out that the
Cypher stent is a first generation drug-eluting stent -- newer DES are
made with different and supposedly better metals -- it will certainly
be worthwhile to inspect for fractures in these newer models, something
that
may be possible with a new imaging technology called OCT, which theoretically
could find these fractures before they cause problems.
Forum Editor, Angioplasty.Org, January 21, 2010
• I recently had a 4 way bypass due to ''3'' fractured
stents. I asked my surgeon and cardiologist about it and they never have
seen this. I was told by my surgeon if I did not have someone with me
that day I would have died. These 3 stents had just been put in within
the last
3 years. My question now is how many people ''will'' die from failure
of these stents. It's too bad the general public has to be led into something
that will fail in such a short period of
time.
David S., 1 PERSON WHO LIVED THROUGH IT, Maine, USA, December 2,
2009
• Eleanor -- we can't advise you as to your legal
recourse. Stent fracture is a relatively rare but known phenomenon. This
certainly should be reported to the manufacturer of the fractured stent,
who is then supposed to report it to the FDA. You can also report
it directly to the FDA, but be forewarned, the forms are a bit daunting
(we testified about this to the FDA in December). Discuss with your cardiologist
the symptoms you are having. Sometimes these may the result of medications,
possibly the heart attack from December. Let the Forum know any updates.
Forum Editor, Angioplasty.Org, February 9, 2007
• I had an angioplasty Jan 2, 2007 to place a stent
in my artery. When the Dr. got in there he found that the stent that had
been placed in 2004 had BROKEN. He worked for 3 hours to reshape the position
of the broken stent. Each time it broke the balloon of the new stent. He
finally managed to accomplish the placement of the new stent. He found
that the drug eluting stent had broken, that I had scar tissue beginning
to clog the artery. In other words the stent did not work properly. Now
I'd like to know if I have any legal recourse. I have been like an invalid
for the past year. Short of breath, couldn't walk far, chest pains, etc.
Since the new stent was placed I don't have the strength and vitality I
once had. I was told that I had a heart attack in December. I was told
it was due to the faulty stent they later found.
Eleanor K., California, USA, January 25, 2007
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