Intra-stent thrombosis is one of the major failure modes of endovascular repair to treat popliteal arterial aneurysm (PAA).
Our ComMech Group members Alice Finotello and Anna Ferrarini are working together with the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Unit of the IRCCS San Martino University Hospital of Genoa to study the intra-stent thrombotic apposition that can occur during follow-up in patients undergoing endovascular treatment for PAA. This study is part of the PERFEKT project leaded by Dr. Bianca Pane, Dr. Giancarlo Salsano (San Martino Hospital) and Prof. Michele Conti, which has been funded by the Italian Ministry of Health.
Analysis of follow-up angio-CT showed three main informations: intra-stent thrombotic apposition has helical shapes, its length is related to the stent diameter and length, thrombosis is always present independently from the follow-up period. Moreover, CFD investigation revealed a relationship between intra-stent thrombosis and region with low helicity confirming the crucial role of swirling flow in the prevention of thrombosis.
Fig. 1: Reconstruction of vessel and thrombosis surfaces was performed starting from postoperative CTs images. A spiral evolution in counterclockwise sense was detected.
July 3rd, 2020