Stenting with the half (disarticulated) Palmaz-Schatz stent.

A total of 110 half (disarticulated) Palmaz-Schatz coronary stents were implanted in 102 patients. Procedural success rate was 98%. Elective stenting was performed in five patients. The others received half stents for bail-out situations, including short dissections, relapsing stenoses, dissections not adequately covered by a full stent, ostial stenoses, and thrombus containing lesions. Seventeen patients received no anticoagulation except aspirin. Complications included one procedural death, three acute occlusions (resulting in one Q and two non-Q wave myocardial infarctions), and one non-Q wave infarction related to side branch closure. Stenting with the half Plamaz-Schatz coronary stent is an effective technique. It allows stenting in situations where a full stent may not be ideally suited. Use of only half a stent reduces thrombogenicity and halves costs.