Bioresorbable scaffolds

Introduction

The invention of balloon angioplasty as a percutaneous treatment for obstructive coronary disease by Andreas Gruntzig in 1977 was a huge leap forward in cardiovascular medicine and will undoubtedly always be remembered as the first revolution in coronary revascularization. This technique however was plagued by multiple problems including recoil and acute vessel closure secondary to occlusive coronary dissection, which sometimes necessitated emergency coronary artery bypass surgery 11. de Feyter PJ, de Jaegere PP and Serruys PW. Incidence, predictors, and management of acute coronary occlusion after coronary angioplasty. Am Heart J. 1994;127:643-51. Link and these drawbacks drove the development of bare metal stents (BMS). Following the landmark BENESTENT 44. Serruys PW, de Jaegere P, Kiemeneij F, Macaya C, Rutsch W, Heyndrickx G, Emanuelsson H, Marco J, Legrand V, Materne P, et al. A comparison of balloon-expandable-stent implantation with balloon angioplasty in patients with coronary artery disease, Benestent Study Group. N Engl J Med. 1994; 331(8):489-495. Link and STRESS 55. Fischman DL, Leon MB, Baim DS, Schatz RA, Savage MP, Penn I, Detre K, Veltri L, Ricci D, Nobuyoshi M, et al. A randomized comparison of coronary-stent placement and balloon angioplasty in...