Introduction: Sirolimus-eluting stents have been shown to be effective in de-novo coronary lesions, reducing restenosis strikingly in a subset of lesions with a low or moderate risk of restenosis. We decided to assess their usefulness in lesions with a high risk of restenosis.
Patients and method: We included consecutive patients with lesions that met at least one of the following criteria: a) in-stent restenosis; b) diffuse lesion (>20 mm); c) small vessel (< or =2.5 mm), and d) total occlusion.
Results: Between June 2002 to December 2002, 100 patients were included (61 [11] years, 84% men, 21% with diabetes). In all, 154 lesions were treated (34% diffuse lesions, 36% in small vessels, 20% in-stent restenosis and 20% occlusions). An average of 1.6 (0.7) stents were implanted per patient. Mean diameter was 2.74 (0.26) mm, mean length was 21 (8.5) mm and total stent length per patient was 33 (16) mm. The acute success rate was 98%. After the procedure 2 (2%) non-Q-wave infarctions were diagnosed. No episodes of acute or subacute thrombosis occurred. During a follow-up period of 8.5 (2) months (range 6-12 months) there were two (2%) late thromboses, one of which caused an infarction. Target lesion revascularization was required in 3 patients (3%), two of whom were the patients with late thrombosis.
Conclusions: Sirolimus-eluting stents can be used in lesions with a high risk of restenosis. The rate of thrombosis was low, and the use of these stents was associated with a strikingly low rate of target lesion revascularization during follow-up.