Atherosclerosis 221 (2012) 106–112 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Atherosclerosis journa l h omepa g e: www.elsevier.com/locate/atherosclerosis Circumferential evaluation of the neointima by optical coherence tomography after ABSORB bioresorbable vascular scaffold implantation: Can the scaffold cap the plaque? Salvatore Brugaletta a,b , Maria D. Radu a , Hector M. Garcia-Garcia a,b,c , Jung Ho Heo a , Vasim Farooq a , Chrysafios Girasis a , Robert-Jan van Geuns a , Leif Thuesen d , Dougal McClean e , Bernard Chevalier f , Stephan Windecker g , Jacques Koolen h , Richard Rapoza i , Karine Miquel-Hebert j , John Ormiston k , Patrick W. Serruys a,∗ a Thoraxcenter, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands b Department of Cardiology, Thorax Institute, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain c Cardialysis B.V., Rotterdam, The Netherlands d Skejby Sygehus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark e Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand f Institut Cardiovasculaire Paris Sud, Massy, France g Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland h Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands i Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA j Abbott Vascular, Diegem, Belgium k Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 12 October 2011 Received in revised form 3 December 2011 Accepted 5 December 2011 Available online 13 December 2011 Keywords: OCT Neointima Bioresorbable vascular scaffold a b s t r a c t Objective: To quantify the circumferential healing process at 6 and 12 months following scaffold implan- tation. Background: The healing process following stent implantation consists of tissue growing on the top of and in the space between each strut. With the ABSORB bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS), the outer circumference of the scaffold is detectable by optical coherence tomography (OCT), allowing a more accurate and complete evaluation of the intra-scaffold neointima. Methods: A total of 58 patients (59 lesions), who received an ABSORB BVS 1.1 implantation and a sub- sequent OCT investigation at 6 (n = 28 patients/lesions) or 12 (n = 30 patients with 31 lesions) months follow-up were included in the analysis. The thickness of the neointima was calculated circumferentially in the area between the abluminal side of the scaffold and the lumen by means of an automated detec- tion algorithm. The symmetry of the neointima thickness in each cross section was evaluated as the ratio between minimum and maximum thickness. Results: The neointima area was not different between 6 and 12 months follow-up (1.57 ± 0.42 mm 2 vs. 1.64 ± 0.77 mm 2 ; p = 0.691). No difference was also found in the mean thickness of the neointima (median [IQR]) between the two follow-up time points (210 m [180–260]) vs. 220 m [150–260]; p = 0.904). However, the symmetry of the neointima thickness was higher at 12 than at 6 months follow-up (0.23 [0.13–0.28] vs. 0.16 [0.08–0.21], p = 0.019). Conclusions: A circumferential evaluation of the healing process following ABSORB implantation is fea- sible, showing the formation of a neointima layer, that resembles a thick fibrous cap, known for its contribution to plaque stability. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. ∗ Corresponding author at: Interventional Cardiology Department Erasmus MC, Thoraxcenter, ‘s Gravendijkwal 230,3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 10 4635260; fax: +31 10 4369154. E-mail address: p.w.j.c.serruys@erasmusmc.nl (P.W. Serruys). 1. Introduction The aim of percutaneous treatment of a coronary lesion with an intracoronary scaffolding device is to acutely restore the geome- try of the coronary lumen, alleviating its flow-limiting character. Thereafter, the reaction of the vessel wall to the implanted stent initiates a healing process resulting in the growth of intra-scaffold 0021-9150/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2011.12.008