Biodegradable-polymer-based drug-eluting stent for left main coronary artery disease

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) have gained widespread acceptation among cardiologists and among the general population for a variety of clinical indications, comprising from stable angina to ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction, due to the undisputed clinical benefit they provide and to their large availability and accessibility. Nonetheless PCI in the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is still controversial. Traditionally the revascularization of the LMCA has been one of those exceptions in which surgery was preferred to PCI, although PCI still found a slot in non-surgically-suitable cases or as bailout intervention. Some evidence has been recently generated, that challenges this traditional approach, and also about the clinical advantages of new-generation intracoronary devices, among them the drug-eluting stents with biodegradable polymers in abluminal coating. This scenario opens new horizons for the treatment of LMCA disease, in which a more prominent role of PCI can be anticipated.