Healing and stent coverage with the new ultrathin sirolimus-eluting stent with abluminal biodegradable polymer

Genoss drug-eluting stent (DES) (Genoss Company Limited) is a new ultrathin sirolimus-eluting stent with an abluminal biodegradable polymer and a cobalt-chromium platform.

The aim of this study was to evaluate vascular healing and neointimal coverage after implantation of the Genoss DES using optical coherence tomography (OCT) 6 months postimplantation.

From August 22, 2019 to June 17, 2020, this multicenter, observational, investigator-initiated study enrolled 20 patients who underwent OCT examination 6 months after Genoss DES implantation and provided informed consent. An analyst, blinded to the patients' and procedural information analyzed OCT images at an independent core laboratory.

Of the 20 patients, 19 with 27 stents in 21 lesions from 21 vessels were included in the analysis, while one patient withdrew consent and was unwilling to undergo follow-up OCT. OCT analysis was performed 204.4 ± 31.9 days after Genoss DES implantation. A total of 4285 stent struts from 661 cross-sections were analyzed. Strut tissue coverage was observed in 98.7 ± 4.3% of struts, with 0.1 ± 1.2% malapposed struts per lesion. The mean thickness of neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) on the covered struts was 0.12 ± 0.04 mm.

Six months after stent implantation, most Genoss DES struts were covered with a thin layer of NIH that was evenly distributed along the stent length. This pilot study evaluated the outcomes of 6 months dual antiplatelet therapy in the context of ultrathin strut stents, providing insight into developing ethical standards and a scientific foundation for conducting an adequately designed clinical trial.