Platinum-Chromium everolimus-eluting stents

With the goal of reducing vessel injury, the conventional approach to stent design has prioritized flexibility and conformability to the vessel wall. This strategy has contributed to several immensely successful devices, among them the platinum-chromium everolimus-eluting stents. This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the platinum-chromium alloy and then examines the role of stent architecture in the risk for longitudinal deformation. It presents technical aspects of the platinum-chromium everolimus-eluting stents and several landmark trials evaluating their clinical performance. As with cobalt-chromium (CoCr) alloys, development of the platinum- chromium (PtCr) alloy was driven by the clinical need for stronger and denser materials than stainless steel. Stent corrosion and metal ion release into vascular tissues are increasingly viewed as contributors to vascular inflammation and perhaps even thrombosis. Longitudinal stent deformation (LSD) refers to the elongation or shortening of a stent after deployment.