Relation of intimal hyperplasia thickness to stent size in Paclitaxel-coated stents

To determine the relation of intimal hyperplasia thickness to stent size in nonpolymeric paclitaxel-coated stents, intravascular ultrasound was performed after stent implantation and at 6 months. Similar to bare metal stents, this study demonstrated that intimal hyperplasia thickness is independent of stent size. There was no deleterious effect of the increased concentration associated with using the same stent design in a smaller artery, and these results suggested that stent strut density may be a more important concept than drug concentration. (C) 2004 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.