Changes to polymer surface of drug-eluting stents during balloon expansion

摘要

Drug-eluting stents (DES) have advanced percutaneous treatment of coronary artery disease by reducing restenosis. However, DES have not eliminated resteno-sis, can serve as a nidus for thrombosis, and are associated with microvascular and endothelial dysfunction. We hypothesized that the polymer surface of DES may be damaged during delivery balloon expansion and that micropar-ticles may detach, which could contribute to these limitations. Methods. We used optical microscopy to systematically image the polymer surface of the 4 US Food and Drug Administration-approved DES following expansion using the accompanying delivery balloon. The manufacturers (DES trade name in parentheses) are Abbott Laboratories (Xience V), Boston Scientific (Taxus Liberte), Cordis (Cypher), and Medtronic (Endeavor). They are deidentified as DES A, B, C, and D. A total of 5 stents were tested from each manufacturer in a vacuum filtration system containing a filtered test medium. Each stent came directly from its original package, premounted on its delivery balloon by the manufacturer, and not directly handled in any way.