ARTICLE SUMMARY:
While the first generation of bioresorbable stents aims to enhance the treatment of peripheral artery disease with temporary support, STENTiT is on to the next generation with a platform of resorbable devices that promise to do what no stent can: elicit natural regeneration of the artery.
In theory, bioresorbable polymer stents make much more sense than permanent metal stents. After an endovascular procedure on an occluded artery a resorbable stent supports the vessel for a time by preventing acute elastic recoil, restenosis, and late negative remodeling (i.e., vessel narrowing caused by fibrosis), then it goes away. As a result, no inflammatory materials remain in the body to cause trouble and interfere with vessel patency. Metal stents, as permanent implants, sometimes require long-term antiplatelet therapy to manage the risk of thrombosis, and in caging the vessel, they might preclude future surgical treatment options.
