Bioresorbable drug eluting scaffolds—are bioresorbable stents ready for today’s clinical practice?

During the course of stent development, a novel concept has recently been introduced, which is based on transient scaffolding of the coronary artery with the help of fully bioresorbable stents eventually allowing vascular restoration over time. Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds represent a landmark innovation and are designed to fully disappear from the coronary artery once their function is no longer needed. This new approach in the treatment of coronary artery disease is widely believed to be beneficial as compared to current metallic devices, especially in younger patients. In this context, recent studies have indicated potential advantages of bioresorbable scaffolds, as treated vessels seem to regain vasomotor functionality during degradation of the device (1).