Immediate and mid-term results after MultiLink stent implantation in native coronary arteries

Different stent designs have widely disparate characteristics that may exer t a positive or negative impact on their early and mid-term outcomes. The M ultiLink stent (Guidant/Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Santa Clara, CA) i s a new coronary stent with only very limited data. In this report, we exam ined the results of 50 consecutive patients treated with 57 premounted shea thless MultiLink stents in 53 native coronary arteries with reference diame ter greater than or equal to 2.7 mm. Successful stenting was achieved in 98 % of patients, resulting in an improvement in diameter stenosis from 91% +/ - 11% to 1% +/- 3% (P = 0.0001), At 1 month, there was no death, myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis, Angiographic restudy at a mean of 5.0 +/- 1.8 months in 94% of patients revealed an in-stent restenosis rate of 20.7 %, The restenosis rates for diabetic patients (vs, nondiabetic patients), t ype C lesions (vs, type A/B1 lesions), and the use of 35-mm-long stents (vs , 15-mm-long stents) were 45.4% (14.3%), 56% (less than or equal to 11%), a nd 80% (8.8%), respectively (P < 0.05), In conclusion, the present study de monstrates that the MultiLink stent has an excellent performance profile, i s associated with a low risk of stent thrombosis in native coronary vessels , and yields a favorable restenosis rate, particularly after the use of sho rt (15 mm) stents to treat simple lesions. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 4 7:23-27, 1999. 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.