Risk of noncardiac surgery after coronary drug-eluting stent implantation

We examined the records of 38 patients who underwent 41 major and 18 minor noncardiac surgeries after successful drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation (57% sirolimus-eluting stents and 43% paclitaxel-eluting stents) at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center from April 2003 to January 2006. The mean patient age was 62 +/- 9 years, and all patients were men. A total of 41 major noncardiac surgeries (34% abdominal, 22% vascular, 17% genitourinary, and 27% other) were performed in 28 patients a median of 260 days after DES implantation. Also, 18 minor noncardiac surgeries (44% skin surgery, 44% injections, and 12% other) were performed in 10 patients a median of 297 days after DES implantation. No major adverse cardiac events or death occurred during or after the 41 major (0%, 95% confidence interval 0% to 9%) and 18 minor noncardiac (0%, 95% confidence interval 0% to 19%) surgeries. In conclusion, although our data were limited by the small sample size, they suggest a low risk of major cardiac complications in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery after coronary DES implantation.