The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of stenting subclavian artery pathologic lesions. Between July 1991 and December 1995, 69 patients (36 males: mean age 67 years, range 34-87 years) underwent intraluminal balloon dilatations followed by
stent implantations in 70 subclavian arteries to treat primary atherosclerotic
stenoses > 70%. Twenty-three patients (34%) were treated for
vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI), 25 patients (36%) were treated for upper limb
ischemia (ULI), and 10 patients (15%) were treated for both VBI and ULI. Other indications included symptomatic
subclavian steal phenomenon (SSS), protection of dialysis
arteriovenous fistula, coronary steal syndrome, protection of axilloaxillary bypass, distal embolization, and protection of left internal mammary artery (LIMA)-coronary bypass. Fifty-three cases (78%) were treated for
stenosis and 17 cases (22%) for total occlusion of the origin of the subclavian artery. The results of this series indicate that stenting of
subclavian artery stenosis appears safe and feasible with good short and mid-term patency, improving at those intervals the initial disappointing reports of balloon angioplasty alone. However, its long-term durability is at present unknown.