OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical outcomes of treating bifurcation lesions with two drug-eluting stent (DES) techniques.

METHODSFrom October 2003 to June 2005, 112 patients with 113 bifurcation lesions with severe stenosis at the ostium of side branch and the diameter > or = 2.50 mm were treated by two DES. Sixty-two of the bifurcation lesions were located in LAD/diagonal (54.9%), 32 in distal left main coronary arteries (28.3%), 18 in LCX/OM (15.9%) and 1 distal RCA (0.9%). Sixty-four lesions were treated with Crush technique, 27 with "T-form" stent implanting technique, 11 with modified "Y-form" stent implanting technique, 5 with kissing technique, 3 with "V-form" stent implanting technique and 3 with Culotta technique. Ninety-one Cypher or Cypher select DES stents, 74 TAXUS DES stents, 67 Firebird stents were used for 226 lesions. Final kissing balloon inflation was performed in 60 bifurcation lesions (93.7%) after 64 Crush stenting procedure.

RESULTSSuccess rate of PCI procedure for the bifurcation lesions was 100%. One patient developed subacute stent thrombosis and underwent successful urgent revascularization. In-hospital major adverse cardiac events (death, AMI, revascularization, MACE) rate was 0.89% (1/112). Nine months follow-up was made in all 112 patients and all patients were alive and MACE rate was 8.04% (9/112) with 1 AMI occurred during the follow-up period in 1 patient due to late thrombosis. Follow-up coronary angiography at 9 months was performed in 48 patients (42.9%) and evidenced 8 in-stent restenosis (16.7%) and 1 patient received CABG, re-PCI was performed in 5 patients.

CONCLUSIONTwo DES technique for the treatment of bifurcation lesions is safe and effective and short- and long-term outcomes is satisfactory.