Drug-eluting stents in the superficial femoral artery: seeing is believing

Antiproliferative drugs have revolutionised the management of coronary artery disease. Following implantation of the first drug-eluting stent (DES) in a coronary artery in 19991 and subsequent publication of the Randomized Comparison of a Sirolimus-Eluting Stent with a Standard Stent for Coronary Revascularization (RAVEL) trial, the field of interventional cardiology was changed forever. The RAVEL trial demonstrated that a sirolimus-eluting stent dramatically reduced restenosis, major adverse cardiac events and mortality compared to a bare metal stent (BMS), with durable results up to five years2-4. Subsequent large-scale randomised trials confirmed these results, as well as the cost-effectiveness of both sirolimus- and ...