Evaluation of Mechanical Performances of Stents with 38 mm Length in Long Lesion

Objective: Single stent with 38 mm length has emerged as a potential solution for long lesion treatment using PCI. However, long stents need to come over a longer lesion length combined with a higher incidence of tortuous calcification, requiring a stent to provide superior transport and compliance and reduce elastic retraction. Here, we evaluated the mechanical performances of the existing four types of drug eluting stents with 38 mm length, which could provide guidance for clinicians to choose the proper stents for the patients.

Methods: The stents with 38 mm length from XIENCE Xpedition (Abbott, US), SYNERGY (Boston Scientific, US), FIREHAWK (Microport, China), and HELIOS (HELIOS, China) were collected. Mechanical parameters of stents including crossing ability, compliance, elastic recoil, and longitudinal strength were performed.

Results: The resistance force of stents from XIENCE Xpedition was smaller than FIREHAWK (p < 0.05), which indicates that the stent from XIENCE Xpedition has better crossing ability. The ratio of stent diameter reduction from both XIENCE Xpedition and SYNERGY was less than 3% with no statistical difference. In addition, the elastic recoil percentage of stents from SYNERGY, XIENCE Xpedition, FIREHAWK, and HELIOS was 1.16%, 2.62%, 3.66%, and 4.19%, respectively, indicating that SYNERGY had better elastic recoil compared to FIREHAWK and HELIOS (p < 0.05), which indicates that the stent from XIENCE Xpedition has better crossing ability. The ratio of stent diameter reduction from both XIENCE Xpedition and SYNERGY was less than 3% with no statistical difference. In addition, the elastic recoil percentage of stents from SYNERGY, XIENCE Xpedition, FIREHAWK, and HELIOS was 1.16%, 2.62%, 3.66%, and 4.19%, respectively, indicating that SYNERGY had better elastic recoil compared to FIREHAWK and HELIOS (p < 0.05), which indicates that the stent from XIENCE Xpedition has better crossing ability. The ratio of stent diameter reduction from both XIENCE Xpedition and SYNERGY was less than 3% with no statistical difference. In addition, the elastic recoil percentage of stents from SYNERGY, XIENCE Xpedition, FIREHAWK, and HELIOS was 1.16%, 2.62%, 3.66%, and 4.19%, respectively, indicating that SYNERGY had better elastic recoil compared to FIREHAWK and HELIOS (.

Conclusion: The evaluation of mechanical properties for the stent with 38 mm length including crossing ability, compliance, elastic recoil, and longitudinal strength could provide reference index for more accurately clinical application for long lesion treatment.