Bioabsorbable Heart Stents the Wave of the Future
December 11, 2006 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
If discontinuing anti-clotting medication after receiving a coated stent is a bad idea, wouldn’t it be better to get a stent that dissolves after a certain period of time? Some good reasons to get an absorbable stent:
- You’d avoid having a foreign body inside your heart
- The absorbable stent is more flexible and conforms to the shape of the coronary artery
- A lower risk of late-stent thrombosis
- Less potential scarring
- Avoid the hassles a metal stent causes with CT and MRI scans
I’ve previously written about the Abbott XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System and today’s news is, I believe, about this stent (why didn’t BBC News name exactly what stent they’re talking about?!) that is made of a polymer which dissolves into lactic acid over two to three years. Like other stents, it holds the artery open and also releases everolimus which works to prevent re-narrowing. In a study of 30 patients who received the BVS stent in Europe and New Zealand, none experienced adverse reactions.
According to Business Week, the Xience V stent is available in Europe and will be marketed in the U.S. in 2008.
