BRS in bifurcations (1)

1. In this non-diseased in-vivo aorto-iliac bifurcation model commonly used complex bifurcation techniques can be performed using the polymeric Absorb BVS with excellent angiographic results.
2. Side branches can be wired with workhorse wires through single and double scaffold strut layers + the SB ostium can be crossed without difficulty with a balloon or second BVS through an opened BVS cell .
3. Provisional, TAP and Modified-T stenting techniques produced acceptable OCT results with minimal malapposition, whilst the Culotte technique more frequently resulted in significant malaposition at the level of the bifurcation.
4. Only single strut fractures were detected on micro-CT, occuring in all culotte procedures and in no modified T procedures.
5. Angiography and 2-dimensional OCT are very infrequently (only 1 out of 9 cases in this study) able to detect the presence of strut fractures, as determined by micro-CT, the gold standard.