Fully dissolving stents provide an innovative option in India, especially for younger heart patients, say doctors
Recently, the Central government announced its concerns and measures to curb the rising non communicable diseases in India. With this, the doctors predict rising number of hypertension, obesity, Diabetes and its related heart ailments in India. It becomes important to have an advanced treatment option available.
One such treatment is fully dissolving (bioresorbable) stents, which doctors believe is an innovative option to treat clogged arteries of the heart. These stents, pioneered by Abbott – ‘Absorb’, recently received USFDA approval and has proven to be successful in India. Considering India’s growing burden of heart ailments, the doctors believe Absorb has a lot of potential and presents an innovative option, believe the city cardiologists.
Explains Dr J Duggal, Head of Department (Cardiology), Jehangir hospital said, “I have come across heart patients who insist to be implanted with bioabsorbable stents while undergoing heart surgery. This is a beneficial product as it cures and later dissolves in the body in a few years, thus leaving no residues in the heart.” No foreign body in the heart artery would reduce the potential of future blockages at the same spot. One of the major features of this revolutionary device is that it is made of naturally dissolving material and more than 1.5 lakh people in more than 100 countries have been treated with this novel technology.
Highlighting the evolution of the stents, Dr Hiremath from Ruby hospital said, “The evolution of angioplasty starts in the year 1977, when the first angioplasty was done. That time, it was just a balloon that was put in which used to have a success rate of 70-75%. Then came a stent which is like a metal which would permanently stay there, which was called BMS- Bare metal stent and there was no drug on it and the success rate for that improved to 85-90%.”
Further he added, “And then, came the drug-eluting stents, for which the success rate improved to 95%. In Drug eluting stent (DES), it has 3 components (drug, metal and polymer). In this, the drug goes into the vessel valve, but the polymer and metal stays there. Then it was found that the polymer can be dissolved.”
He further added that there are three levels for the stent to dissolve- drug, polymer and finally the metal.
“With Absorb, which is made of poly-lactide material, the stent dissolves over a few years, and does not remain inside the body in the long run. Today, stents are functioning at 97-98% success. There is much improved efficiency. We have been using it for over 2 years now, added Dr Hiremath. Absorb disappears completely in approximately three years, after it has done its job of keeping a clogged artery open and promoting healing of the treated artery segment.
Now the question arises why we need stents- it is required to remove the blocked artery immediately. First one in this category is biodegradeable stents. Absorb is a very innovative stent because it dissolves over time and leaves behind a health artery. About 500 and more bioresorbable stents have been implanted in patients in Pune so far, Dr Hiremath said.
