Angiographic findings of the multicenter randomized study with the sirolimus-eluting Bx velocity balloon-expandable stent (RAVEL): Sirolimus-eluting stents inhibit restenosis irrespective of the vessel size

Background - Restenosis remains the major limitation of coronary catheter-based intervention. In small vessels, the amount of neointimal tissue is disproportionately greater than the vessel caliber, resulting in higher restenosis rates. In the Randomized Study With the Sirolimus-Eluting Bx Velocity Balloon-Expandable Stent (RAVEL) trial, ≈40% of the vessels were small (2.84 mm). At 6-month follow-up, the restenosis rate in the SES group was 0% in all strata (versus 35%, 26%, and 20%, respectively, in the BS group). In-stent late loss was 0.01±0.25 versus 0.80±0.43 mm in stratum I, 0.01±0.38 versus 0.88±0.57 mm in stratum II, and -0.06±0.35 versus 0.74±0.57 mm in stratum III (SES versus BS). In SES, the minimal lumen diameter (MLD) remained unchanged (Δ -0.72 to 0.72 mm) in 97% of the lesions and increased (=late gain, ΔMLD