Intraoperative drug-eluting stent thrombosis in a patient undergoing robotic prostatectomy.

Overview

Insertion of drug-eluting stents is one of the strategies for treating patients with coronary artery disease. These patients can be a perioperative challenge in management as they need to be maintained on antiplatelet therapy to prevent stent thrombosis, which puts them at an increased risk for surgical bleeding. Recently revised guidelines on elective surgery following insertion of a drug-eluting stent recommend dual antiplatelet therapy for a period of twelve months. The management of a patient who presented for surgery more than two years after the insertion of a drug-eluting stent, and who developed in-stent thrombosis intraoperatively, is presented.