Very Late Stent Thrombosis 42 Months after Implantation of Sirolimus-Eluting Stent and Discontinuation of Antiplatelet Therapy

Although safety profiles of sirolimus-eluting stents do not seem to differ in short-to-medium term from those of bare-metal stents, late stent thrombosis after deployment of drug-eluting stents has emerged as a potential safety concern in the era of high-pressure stent implantation. Here, we describe the case of a patient with acute myocardial infarction due to stent thrombosis of a sirolimus-eluting stent 42 months after stent deployment and 5 weeks after discontinuation of aspirin treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the most delayed cases of sirolimus-eluting stent thrombosis described so far. The case emphasizes the potential risk that late stent thrombosis can unpredictably occur at any time point after drug-eluting stent deployment. Copyright (C) 2009 Dirk Sibbing et al.