Device-specificity of vascular healing following implantation of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds and bioabsorbable-polymer metallic drugeluting stents in human coronary arteries. The ESTROFA OCT BVS vs. BP-DES study.

AIMS: We sought to compare vascular healing with bioresorbable everolimus-eluting vascular scaffolds (BVS) and drug-eluting stents with bioabsorbable polymers (BP-DES) at 6 and 12 months implanted both in same patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Multicenter and prospective study including patients with at least two comparable lesions to treat. In every patient both BVS and BP-DES (Synergy™, Orsiro™ or Biomatrix Flex™) were implanted by lesion randomization. Patients included were evaluated with optical coherence tomography at 6 or 12 months (2:1). Finally, 68 patients had examination at 6 months and 27 patients at 12 months. Uncovered struts rates at 6 months were 1.7±3.2% for BVS and 5.3±5.6% for BP-DES (p=0.0001) and at 12 months 0.48±0.72% and 4.8±5% respectively (p=0.001). Rates of strut malapposition were significantly lower with BVS. There was no significant intra-patient correlation BP-DES / BVS for endpoints. Evaginations were more frequent and larger with BVS. Discontinuities in BVS were observed in 19.4% at 6 months and 14.3% at 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Vascular healing with BVS and BP-DES could be more device-specific than patient-specific. At follow-up, BVS presented less uncovered or non-apposed struts than BP-DES but more frequent and larger evaginations. Discontinuities in BVS were relatively frequent at both time points.