The potential of bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) technology has been demonstrated in first-in-man studies with up to 5-year follow-up. This study sought to investigate the 1-year outcomes of ...the BVS, for the treatment of chronic total occlusions (CTOs), using various imaging techniques. Thirty-five true CTO lesions treated with BVS were included in this prospective study. Scaffolds were deployed after mandatory predilation and intravascular ultrasound analysis. Optical coherence tomography was performed after BVS implantation and at 10 to 12 months. Multislice computed tomography was performed at baseline and at 6 to 8 months. Mean patient age was 61 ± 10 years. The most frequent vessel treated was the right coronary artery (46%). Lesions were classified as intermediate (49%) or difficult/very difficult (26%) according to the Japanese CTO complexity score. Predilation was performed in 100% of lesions, using cutting balloons in 71% of these. The total scaffold length implanted per lesion was of 52 ± 23 mm. All scaffolds were delivered and deployed successfully. Postdilation was undertaken in 63%. By multislice computed tomography at 6 months, we observed 2 cases of asymptomatic scaffold restenosis, subsequently confirmed by angiography. At 12 months, no scaffold thrombosis or major adverse cardiac events were reported. The optical coherence tomography at follow-up showed that 94% of struts were well apposed and covered (5% of uncovered struts and 1% of nonapposed struts), and only 0.6% of struts were nonapposed and uncovered. In conclusion, 1-year results suggest that BVS for CTO is associated with excellent clinical and imaging outcomes. Accurate percutaneous coronary BVS technique might have enabled these promising results.
The benefits of chronic total coronary occlusion (CTO) revascularization are not well established. In this prospective cohort study, 47 consecutive patients with successful percutaneous ...recanalization of CTO underwent adenosine stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and the Short Form-36 Health Survey before and 6 months after the procedure. Successful recanalization of a CTO was followed by significant improvement of (1) global physical and mental health status; (2) the distance walked in the 6MWT; (3) the incidence of chest pain at the end of the 6MWT; and (4) the score of a novel CMR ischemic burden index on the basis of the characteristics of adenosine stress perfusion defects (extension, persistence, transmurality, and induced contractile regional dysfunction). Patients with greater CMR ischemic index before percutaneous revascularization showed better improvement in the 6MWT. In conclusion, successful recanalization of a CTO leads to a concurrent improvement in ischemic burden, exercise tolerance, angina frequency, and quality of life scores. Patients with a high ischemic CMR score before CTO recanalization showed the better improvement in exercise tolerance.
