How to select the most appropriate patient and lesion to be treated with a coronary bioresorbable vascular scaffold

Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) are an exciting novel treatment for coronary artery disease (CAD) as their eventual resorption renders the artery free from a permanent metallic cage. Clinical trials regarding these novel devices have demonstrated promising results, although their use in this context has largely been restricted to simple lesions. More recently, BVS use has expanded to patients with more complex lesions including those with long diffuse disease, and results from several registries are awaited with regard to their efficacy in 'real-world' patients. Although any patient who requires percutaneous treatment for CAD could benefit from BVS implantation, there are certain cohorts of patients and lesions in whom BVS could be of particular benefit. In this review, we attempt to identify which patient and lesion cohort is most suitable for treatment with these novel devices.