Optimus covered stent: Advanced covered stent technology for complex congenital heart disease.

AIM: To assess the acute results of the first human use of the Optimus covered stent in complex coarctation of the aorta.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We successfully implanted the Optimus covered stent in eight cases in patients whose preprocedural anatomy looked challenging for currently available covered stents. Six of the patients had native coarctation with one recoarctation following surgical repair. There were no significant complications with reduction in the mean invasive gradient from 22 to 1 mm Hg. The length of stents used ranged from 33 to 57 mm with a median shortening after expansion of 13%. Postprocedural follow-up with magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography has not shown evidence of fracture or migration or renarrowing. The median duration of follow-up is 10 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results show that the Optimus covered stent is safe and efficacious for use in patients with coarctation of challenging morphology. A systemic trial will be required to evaluate this stent for more widespread practice.