Two-year outcomes of everolimus vs. paclitaxel-eluting stent for the treatment of unprotected left main lesions: a propensity score matching comparison of patients included in the French Left Main Taxus (FLM Taxus) and the LEft MAin Xience (LEMAX) registries.

Aims: With newer drug-eluting stents (DES), PCI has appeared as an acceptable alternative to cardiac surgery in the treatment of unprotected left main (ULM) lesions. Using data from the French Left Main Taxus and the LEft MAin Xience registries, we compared two-year outcomes in consecutive patients from 2003-2008 using everolimus-eluting stents (EES) vs. paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES).

Provisional side branch-stenting for coronary bifurcation lesions: evidence of improving procedural and clinical outcomes with contemporary techniques.

Objectives: To determine whether recent technical modifications have improved clinical outcomes for patients undergoing contemporary bifurcation lesion percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background: Provisional side branch (SB)-stenting has become the preferred strategy for bifurcation PCI. Newer generation drug-eluting stents (DESs), the proximal optimization technique (POT), and the use of noncompliant (NC) balloons for final kissing inflation (FKI) have the potential to optimize outcomes.