ABSTRACT
Compared with plain coronary angioplasty, coronary stent implantation could dramatically decrease in-hospital events and improve long-term patency in some subsets of lesions. Early stent thrombosis remains, however, a problem; furthermore, increased arterial wall injury caused by stent deployment initiates a multifactorial process that leads to neointimal hyperplasia and restenosis, especially in smaller arteries and longer lesions. Coating with different kinds of polymers has been suggested in order to improve the biocompatibility of metal stents. Drug loaded polymer-coated stents, that serve as a drug reservoir for sustained local drug delivery, have been proposed as a potential solution for subacute thrombosis and restenosis.
