Effectiveness of a sirolimus-eluting stent (Cypher) for diffuse in-stent restenosis inside a bare metal stent

We estimated the benefit of a sirolimus-eluting stent (SES, Cypher) for diffuse (> 10 mm) in-stent restenosis (ISR) inside bare metal stents (BMS) because the feasibility of the SES was not confirmed after its recent approval in Japan. Clinical and angiographic outcomes after SES implantation to 93 diffuse ISR were compared with those of 3 groups treated by plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA, (n = 54)), cutting balloon angioplasty (CB, (n = 24)), and BMS (n = 41) in a series of 153 patients whose follow-up quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) evaluated 3-9 months after the treatments was obtained from January 2003 through December 2005. For 33 lesions in the SES group, 12-month follow-up QCA results were obtained and compared with those at 6 months. Ticlopidine (200 mg/day) was prescribed for at least 12 weeks after SES implantation and for 2 weeks after BMS in addition to aspirin (81-100 mg/day). Patient characteristics and the characteristics of previous implanted BMS in the SES group were not significantly different from those in the other groups. Death from cardiac causes and nonfatal myocardial infarction did not occur in any group. Stent thrombosis was not observed in the BMS and SES groups. The incidence of repeat target lesion revascularization (re-TLR) in the SES group (3.23%) was significantly lower compared with that of the POBA (37.0%), CB (25.0%), and BMS (29.3%) groups (P < 0.001, respectively). Late loss in the SES group (0.44 +/- 0.41 mm) was significantly smaller than that in the BMS group (1.34 +/- 0.74 mm) (P < 0.05). The rate of recurrent ISR (re-ISR) in SES (5.38%) was significantly lower than that in POBA (46.3%), CB (41.7%), and BMS (46.3%) (P < 0.001, respectively). The QCA variables at 6 months in the SES group were not significantly different from those at 12 months. Thus, SES implantation for diffuse ISR was far superior since it markedly reduced the incidence of re-TLR with re-ISR at up to 6-months follow-up. In addition, this angiographic patency after SES implantation continued until 12 months.