Modern Approach to Vulnerable Plaque and Bifurcation Stenting

The goal of this animal trial was to test the first prototype of the Viller Stent Delivery System (SDS) for stenting vulnerable lesions and bifurcation lesions. Two male pigs were enrolled in the study. After premedication with aspirin and clopidogrel both animals were anesthetized and implantation of the stents was performed. The stents positioning was checked according to coronagraphy and optical coherent tomography. Pigs were sacrificed while under general anesthesia, their hearts harvested and stents explanted. Results: overall, five stents were implanted. The implantation was feasible in 5 out of 9 attempts. Failure of delivery was reported in two cases and resulted into stent loss. In two cases the balloon burst and devices had to be replaced. The carina match was obtained in 1 out of 4 cases. The protruding part (cone of the stent) was against the side branch in 4 out of 5 cases. In order to visualize the markers in the auxiliary balloon a 10-15% concentration of contrast substance must be used.