Recurrent very late drug-eluting stent thrombosis

In-stent thrombosis is a severe and potentially fatal event. The incidence of this pathological process does not differ significantly after implantation of either bare metal or drug-eluting stents (DESs) in the first month after intervention, but stent thrombosis (ST) continues to occur over a long period of time after implantation of DESs, a phenomenon known as late and very late ST. Multiple predictors of late ST have been identified, and among others, patient's adherence to medical therapy as well as an optimal interventional technique of stent implantation emerge as crucial variables. Scarce data is available about the occurrence of recurrent very late ST. We report three cases of recurrent very late thrombosis of first generation DESs in middle-aged patients with different degrees of coronary artery disease, presenting with acute myocardial infarction. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.