Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds for the treatment of coronary artery disease: Clinical outcomes from randomized controlled trials

The permanent metal prosthesis common to bare metal stents (BMS) as well as both first- and second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) following treatment of coronary artery disease represents a long-lasting substrate for late adverse coronary events including restenosis, thrombosis, and neoatherosclerosis. Following resorbtion, bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) may eliminate this nidus and improve late outcomes through restoration of the vessel to more normal vascular structure and function. BRS represents a single platform which incorporates the mechanical features of metallic stents to provide safe and effective revascularization, suppression of restenosis and prevention of constrictive remodeling with long-term restoration of the treated vessel to a more natural state. The landscape of BRS is rapidly evolving with new materials which target various performance goals for the duration of vascular support and polymer resorption time. The Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold (Absorb BVS), recently approved by United States Food and Drug Administration, has extensive clinical evidence to date in support of its clinical efficacy and safety. Recently published data from well-executed randomized clinical trials (RCTs) as part of the ABSORB Clinical development program along with other investigator-initiated trials provide insights into the safety and performance of this device in patients with de novo coronary lesions as well in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This review provides a comprehensive, outcomes based understanding of the available evidence from RCTs that offer head-to-head comparisons of Absorb BVS with metallic everolimus-eluting stents (EES). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.