Bioresorbable Scaffolds: Ready for a Rematch?

The bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) is a promising technology with clear theoretical benefits. Large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the early generation of this technology, however, demonstrated issues translating these benefits from the abstract into the clinical realm. This review covers the outcomes beginning with the first-generation scaffolds and provides updates on advances made with newer technologies and evolved approaches to platform delivery.

Pooled individual patient data from the ABSORB studies with 5-year follow-up was published in early 2025, showing higher event rates in the BVS group driven by events in the first three years of follow-up. Events after three years were the same or lower compared to traditional metallic drug-eluting stents (DES). BVS technology is not yet ready for clinical primetime. However, there is need for improved scaffold technology and new BVS will again need to be tested against metallic DES in large-scale RCTs with long-term follow-up.