Assessment of efficacy and safety of combining "paclitaxel" eluting balloon and "limus" eluting stent in the same lesion

Objectives To assess the safety and efficacy of combining drug-eluting balloon (DEB) and drug-eluting stents (DES) in the same coronary lesion. Background Use of DEB may not always produce optimal results or even result in dissection, compelling the operators to consider bailout stenting with bare metal stents (BMS). However, BMS may not be ideal in patients who have significant risk-profile for restenosis. We have opted for DES over BMS in such situations and present our follow-up data. Methods Between 2009 and 2011, 46 patients (57 lesions) requiring bailout stenting following DEB use were treated with second-generation DES. All patients had at-least one or more risk-factors that made them vulnerable for restenosis (diabetes, chronic kidney disease, previous in-stent restenosis [ISR], and/or long diffuse lesions ≥30 mm). Results Of the 57 lesions, 34 (60%) were previous ISR. The mean length of the DEB was: 36.2 ± 5.6 mm. All patients had TIMI-3 flow post PCI with no in-lab complications. At median follow-up of 12.3 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 7.5-18.1), the rates target lesion revascularization (TLR) and target vessel revascularization (TVR) were 3 (5.3%) and 4 (7%), respectively. One patient had died 3 months following treatment. There were no episodes of myocardial infarction, definite or probable stent thrombosis. The major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) rate defined as cardiac-death, MI, and TVR occurred in 11% of patients. Conclusion The results from this novel strategy of combining "Paclitaxel" eluting balloon and "Limus" eluting stent in a same lesion are encouraging. Dual drug-elution acting on two different pathways may provide potential synergy that may explain the favorable outcome. (J Interven Cardiol 2013;26:259-263)