Cypher May Provide Alternative to Surgery for Multivessel Disease

Four analyses of three-year follow-up data showed that Cordis’ Cypher stent may be an appropriate alternative to bypass surgery in patients with blockages in two or more coronary arteries.

Three of these analyses sought to assess the long-term impact of the stent when the patient was diabetic, the length of the blockage was more than 100mm or the arterial blockage was located in a junction between a main artery and a side-branch artery, a type of blockage also known as bifurcation. A fourth analysis reported the overall incidence of stent thrombosis in the data set. 

The results “are excellent for the Cypher stent in very complex patients,” David Kandzari, chief medical officer for Cordis, said.

In the U.S., the stent is indicated for de novo lesions less than 30mm in length in native coronary arteries between 2.5mm and 3.5mm in diameter. It does not have an approved indication for patients with multivessel disease, diabetes or bifurcations.