Introduction

In-stent restenosis has long been recognized as the main limitation of coronary stenting, with rates of restenosis as high as 50% being reported for some complex subgroups. Although a number of ‘predictors’ have been described and are helpful in characterizing ‘high-risk’ populations, the occurrence of restenosis remains largely unpredictable for a particular patient.1-3 Moreover, in-stent restenosis in its more complex forms may recur in up to 80% of patients following percutaneous re-treatment with conventional techniques.4 Although intracoronary brachytherapy has been proven effective in reducing the recurrence rate of in-stent restenosis, treatment failure still frequently occurs.