Stent-related cardiac events after non-cardiac surgery: Drug-eluting stent vs. bare metal stent

For evaluation of post-operative stent associated cardiac events after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation we analyzed data of 138 patients who underwent non-cardiac surgery after DES implantation and compared the data with those of 101 patients who underwent non-cardiac surgery after bare metal stent (BMS) implantation. Three patients (2.2%) in DES group developed post-operative cardiac events and none in BMS group (p = 0.2). One patient died due to suspected stent thrombosis and the other two had myocardial infarction due to angiographically proven stent thrombosis. The time interval between stent implantation and surgery in those with cardiac events was 6, 264, and 367 days, respectively. Our data shows that peri-operative stent-related thrombotic complications can occur long after DES implantation and careful peri-operative monitoring for cardiac events is needed in patients receiving non-cardiac surgery after DES implantation.