The first human testing of bioabsorbable stents — which theoretically could reduce the incidence of stent thrombosis and ease repeat treatments to the same site — suggests that they are safe and largely disappear within a few months.
In this manufacturer-sponsored study in Lancet, researchers reported on 63 angioplasty patients who received the magnesium stents. No deaths or cases of myocardial infarction or acute stent thrombosis occurred during a year of follow-up.
However, restenosis developed in about 48% of the patients, and 45% overall required repeat revascularization. Editorialists observe that "these rates are similar to, or higher than," restenosis rates reported with angioplasty alone. They conclude: "Whether bioabsorbable stents signal the threshold of a new era for percutaneous coronary intervention is yet to unfold."
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