Magnesiumstents in postoperative vascular obstructions

Matthias Peuster, MD, PhD, Heart- and Diabetes-Center NRW, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany

Postoperative vascular obstructions may complicate surgical therapy for congenital heart defects especially if small infants are treated. The concept of stent implantation for relief of vascular obstructions in small infants is limited since the diameter of the stent has to be adapted to the size of the growing vessel. Degradable stents produced from corrosive alloys could solve this issue. In this project, the efficacy and safety of a corroding mag-nesium stent is evaluated in a neonatal porcine model of surgical re-coarctation. There-fore, surgical stenoses were created by end- to –end anastomoses in the growing minipig. After 4 weeks, the defect is treated by the implantation of a corrodible stent produced from magnesium-based alloys. Follow- up lasts 6-12 months. During this pe-riod, the pigs are evaluated for re-stenosis and eventual re-dilatations of the implanted stents..

IIntraoperative aspect of a surgically created shelf-lesion in a minipig weighing 7 kg by end-to –end anastomosis of the descending thoracic aorta.