Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad performs Coronary angioplasty using fully absorbable stent (Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold), for the first time in India

Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad announced the performing of the first coronary angioplasty in India, using ‘ABSORB fully absorbable stent’ - Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (‘Absorb – BVS’), on Thursday. Dr P C Rath, Sr. Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, who performed this complex procedure led a team of interventional cardiologists - Dr Manoj Agarwal, Dr B V Purohit and Dr Kripal Reddy. This beginning will mark a major milestone and is referred as the 4th revolution in interventional cardiology.



‘Absorb – BVS’ is a revolutionary device which is made of dissolvable material and is a natural substitute for the metallic stent, being currently used to prop open the artery at the site of blockage after an angioplasty. Unlike a metallic stent which remains in the body for lifetime, ‘Absorb – BVS’ dissolves in due course of time. The metallic stent being a foreign body sometimes creates side effects. To suppress these side effects the patient has to be on drugs for lifetime which can cause Gastro Intestinal bleeding and brain stroke. ‘Absorb – BVS’ dissolves in the body and is therefore devoid of such side effects.



‘Absorb – BVS’ is the first drug-eluting, fully bioresorbable device made of polylactide, a naturally dissolvable material commonly used in dissolving sutures. The ‘Absorb – BVS’, similar to a small mesh tube, is designed to open a blocked heart vessel and restore blood flow to the heart. It provides support to the vessel until the artery can stay open on its own and then dissolves naturally over time. Once in place, ‘Absorb – BVS’ leaves patients with a vessel free of a permanent metallic stent and allows the vessel to resume more natural function and movement, enabling long-term benefits.



‘Absorb – BVS’ has several potential advantages over the metallic stent



·         ‘Absorb – BVS’ is temporary and is in place only till the vessel on which angioplasty was performed, has healed, therefore no foreign material persists in the body for long-term.



·         ‘Absorb – BVS’ permits the vessel to regain its natural curvature and functioning once it dissolves. While stiff metallic stents can alter vessel geometry and biomechanics, and the consequent long-term flow disturbances and chronic irritation contribute to adverse events resulting in serious consequences.



·         The body immune system reacts to the presence of a foreign body like metallic stent by producing excessive platelets. To suppress this, patients have to be on anti-platelet drugs for lifetime. The anti-platelet drugs have adverse side effects like gastro-intestinal bleeding or even a brain stroke.



Dr. Rath and his team implanted ‘Absorb – BVS’ on a 35 year old male patient, who suffered a massive cardiac arrest ten days ago. He had a 99% block in one of the main artery (Left Anterior Descending Artery). The artery has been cleared of the blockage with a balloon angioplasty and was implanted with the ‘Absorb – BVS’, today. The patient is recovering well and will be discharged in a couple of days.



‘Absorb – BVS’ has been implanted in more than 3,000 patients and 30 countries worldwide in clinical trials and commercial settings. This is CE marked approved and has been approved by DCGI to be used in patients in India. The incidence of reblockage from ‘Absorb – BVS’ was found to be around 3.5% to 5%.