The interventional cardiology team at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute at Baptist Hospital recently became the first in South Florida to offer patients with coronary artery disease a new treatment option that literally disappears over time.
Ramon Quesada, M.D., Medical Director of the Structural Heart and Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Programs at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute at Baptist Hospital, implanted a patient with the world’s first FDA-approved biodegradable heart stent or “scaffold.” The Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold is a major advance in the treatment of coronary artery disease, which affects 15 million people in the United States and remains a leading cause of death worldwide despite decades of therapeutic advances.
The Institute was the only South Florida medical facility to participate in the clinical trials for the new device.
While stents are traditionally made of metal, Abbott’s Absorb stent is made of a naturally dissolving material, similar to degradable sutures. Absorb disappears completely[1] in about 3 years, after it has done its job of keeping a clogged artery open and promoting healing of the treated artery segment. By contrast, metal stents are permanent implants.
“This absorbable stent is a revolutionary advancement in the treatment of coronary artery disease,” explained Dr. Quesada, who was the principal investigator for the trials at the Institute. “It benefits the patient by treating the diseased artery then gradually dissolving, leaving a healed artery that can pulse naturally, the way it was meant to function.”
