Ionizing Radiation to Prevent Arterial Intimal Hyperplasia At the Edges of the Stent: Induces Necrosis and Fibrosis

After arterial injury, adequate ionizing radiation effectively reduces neointimal thickening. Irradiation-induced histological changes include previously undetected recasting with necrosis and fibrosis at the arterial edges of the stent. The parietal recasting we observed in animal arteries irradiated at high doses is unclear and a cause of concern especially after clinical spontaneous dissection was recently reported. The use of ionizing radiation for the prevention of arterial restenosis awaits confirmation with a long-term follow-up including specific experimental histological analyses.