Drug-eluting stents and the future of coronary artery bypass surgery: facts and fiction.
The treatment of patients with coronary artery disease continues to evolve. Recent, exciting data on the use of drug-eluting stents in diseased coronary vessels has generated immense enthusiasm within the interventional community leading to claims that "drug-eluting stents will put bypass surgeons out of business." However, despite promising short-term and midterm outcomes of this revolutionary new technology, valid concerns regarding long-term safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents persist. This review article evaluates current status of drug-eluting stents with special emphasis on real and potential drawbacks of this emerging percutaneous coronary interventional modality and its impact on the practice of coronary artery bypass surgery.
Raja
Shahzad G
SG
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, United Kingdom. drrajashahzad@hotmail.com
D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000639:trends*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002317:Cardiovascular Agents