First human use of the TAXUs Petal paclitaxel-eluting bifurcation stent

AIMS: This first human use (FHU) study in bifurcation lesions evaluated safety and feasibility of the TAXUS Petal paclitaxel-eluting dedicated bifurcation stent. METHODS AND RESULTS: This prospective, single-arm, multicentre study had a composite primary endpoint of 30-day death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target vessel revascularisation (TVR). Angiographic and intravascular ultrasound follow-up was at six months with clinical follow-up through five years. Mean age (N=28) was 60.9 + or - 9.3 years and 17.9% of patients had medically treated diabetes. Main branch (MB) lesion length was 13.8 + or - 5.9 mm with 4.4 + or - 2.5 mm in the side branch (SB). TAXUS Petal was successfully implanted in 89.3% of patients (25/28). On a per device basis, 73.5% (25/34) of Petal deployments were successful. The primary endpoint occurred in one patient (3.7%, in-hospital non-Q-wave MI). Through one year, TVR was 11.1%, target lesion revascularisation was 7.4%, and there were no deaths, Q-wave MIs, or stent thromboses. In-segment late loss (n=21) was 0.47 + or - 0.45 mm (proximal MB), 0.41 + or - 0.57 mm (distal MB), and 0.18 + or - 0.39 mm (SB). CONCLUSIONS: The requirement for rotational alignment made delivery of this first generation TAXUS Petal stent challenging and accounted for the relatively low device delivery success. Clinical and angiographic outcomes were satisfactory when successful delivery was achieved.