Neointima and neoatherosclerotic characteristics in bare metal and first and second generation drug eluting stents in patients admitted with cardiovascular events attributed to stent failure: an optical coherence tomography study

AIMS: To assess neoatherosclerotic plaque morphology in bare metal (BMS) and 1st and 2nd generation drug eluting stents (DES) in patients presenting with an event attributed to stent failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty five patients (11 implanted with BMS, 13 with a 1st generation and 11 with a 2nd generation DES) admitted with an event due to stent failure who had neoatherosclerotic lesions on optical coherence tomography were included in the analysis. The lumen and stent borders were detected and the lipid and calcific tissue were identified in the neointima and their burden was estimated. The neointima attenuation and backscatter indices were computed and compared between different stent types. Although there were no differences in the neointima burden, the BMS group exhibited thinner fibrous caps (P