Natural history of low-intensity neointimal tissue after an everolimus-eluting stent implantation: a serial observation with optical coherence tomography

Heart Vessels. 2015 Jan;30(1):136-9. doi: 10.1007/s00380-013-0450-y. Epub 2013 Dec 29.

Abstract

Although previous optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies reported that restenosis tissue after implantation of a drug-eluting stent (DES) was composed of a variety of cells, the clinical significance of morphologic characteristics for in-stent neointimal tissue as assessed by OCT has not been clarified. We experienced a patient with stable angina who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with a 2.5 × 18-mm DES implantation 6 months before the OCT examination. OCT imaging showed a mild intimal hyperplasia (39 % neointimal hyperplasia) with eccentric, heterogeneous tissue, predominantly of low signal intensity. Seventeen months after the initial procedure, OCT revealed a significant increase in percent neointimal hyperplasia of 58 %, with morphologically different intimal tissue of concentric homogeneous high intensity in the stented segments. This finding suggests that low-intensity intimal tissue morphology detected by OCT could be a morphometric predictor of late neointimal tissue growth after DES implantation.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Chest Pain
  • Coronary Artery Disease / therapy*
  • Coronary Vessels / pathology*
  • Drug-Eluting Stents / adverse effects*
  • Everolimus
  • Humans
  • Hyperplasia
  • Male
  • Neointima / pathology*
  • Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
  • Sirolimus / administration & dosage
  • Sirolimus / analogs & derivatives*
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence*

Substances

  • Everolimus
  • Sirolimus