Intracoronary optical coherence tomography and histology of overlapping everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds in a porcine coronary artery model: the potential implications for clinical practice.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the vascular response of overlapping Absorb stents compared with overlapping newer-generation everolimus-eluting metallic platform stents (Xience V [XV]) in a porcine coronary artery model.

Background: The everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (Absorb) is a novel approach to treating coronary lesions. A persistent inflammatory response, fibrin deposition, and delayed endothelialization have been reported with overlapping first-generation drug-eluting stents.

Evaluation with in vivo optical coherence tomography and histology of the vascular effects of the everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold at two years following implantation in a healthy porcine coronary artery model: implications of pilot results for future pre-clinical studies.

To quantify with in vivo OCT and histology, the device/vessel interaction after implantation of the bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS). We evaluated the area and thickness of the strut voids previously occupied by the polymeric struts, and the neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) area covering the endoluminal surface of the strut voids (NIH(EV)), as well as the NIH area occupying the space between the strut voids (NIH(BV)), in healthy porcine coronary arteries at 2, 3 and 4 years after implantation of the device. Twenty-two polymeric BVS were implanted in the coronary arteries of 11 healthy Yucatan minipigs that underwent OCT at 2, 3 and 4 years after implantation, immediately followed by euthanasia.

Intracoronary optical coherence tomography and histology at 1 month and 2, 3, and 4 years after implantation of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds in a porcine coronary artery model: an attempt to decipher the human optical coherence tomography images in the ABSORB trial.

Background: With the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT), alterations of the reflectance characteristics of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) struts have been reported in humans. In the absence of histology, the interpretation of the appearances of the struts by OCT remains speculative. We therefore report OCT findings with corresponding histology in the porcine coronary artery model immediately after and at 28 days and 2, 3, and 4 years after BVS implantation.