Background: Overlapping drug-eluting stents might be associated with an adverse vessel response because of increased drug/polymer toxicity and lesion rigidity.
Methods and results: Lesions treated with overlapping everolimus- (EES=36) or paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES=38) were analyzed for 8-9-months by 3-dimensional intravascular ultrasound. EES were associated with significantly greater neointimal suppression in the single-strut regions than PES, with a similar trend in the overlap region. PES had significant vessel expansion in all regions, whereas there were no changes with EES. Neither stent fracture nor late incomplete stent apposition (LISA) in the overlap region was observed.
Conclusions: Overlapping EES appears to be effective without vessel expansion, stent fracture or LISA for up to 8-9 months.