The STENTYS self-apposing stent technology in coronary artery disease: literature review and future directions.

INTRODUCTION: Coronary stent designs have been through extensive developments in the past few decades. Since the introduction of the self-apposing STENTYS stent, several theoretical advantages of its nitinol platform have been clinically evaluated. This paper reviews the current status, ongoing work, and future directions of this device. Areas covered: The OPEN (STENTYS Coronary Bifurcation Stent System fOr the PErcutaNeous treatment of de novo lesions in native bifurcated coronary arteries) trials revealed high technical success rates of the STENTYS performance in bifurcation lesions. The Assessment of the Safety and Performance of the STENTYS self-expanding Coronary Stent in Acute Myocardial Infarction (APPOSITION) trials demonstrated the safety and feasibility of the device in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Optical coherence tomography showed better short-term strut apposition in patients treated with the STENTYS stent in APPOSITION IV. The clinical outcomes of the device in saphenous vein graft lesions and left main coronary artery disease are favorable. Expert commentary: Despite numerous theoretical advantages of the nitinol platform, superiority of the STENTYS self-apposing stent over currently available drug-eluting stents has not yet been proven. However, the ongoing registries evaluating the performance of the STENTYS Xposition will provide more insights in its clinical performance.