Coronary and endovascular applications of the Absorb™ bioresorbable vascular scaffold

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the world, accounting for nearly one-third of all human mortality. In the modern era, the mainstay of therapy for established occlusive lesions in the cardiovascular tree is percutaneous balloon angioplasty and stent implantation. The procedure is widely applied, with over 2 million procedures performed annually, and the acute results are favorable in >95% of patients. Significant problems with angioplasty and stenting remain, however, including the need for early reintervention for restenosis and/or thrombosis, and the requirement for continual antiplatelet therapy as the artery heals. Furthermore, although the remarkable progress in intravascular stent development is incontrovertible, stents still generate an alarming amount of long-term complications including fracture and late thrombosis. In order to circumvent the myriad problems associated with permanent intravascular implants, stents that slowly dissolve after de...