Drug Coated Balloons

The latest Lancet carries a letter that documents a follow-up of 45 years in a patient who had balloon angioplasty by Andreas Gruntzig in 1978. The patient remained asymptomatic despite having a residual block of more than 34% in his left anterior descending artery.

This patient reinforces the clinical importance of drug-coated balloons (DCB) in coronary intervention, which will be complementary to drug-eluting stents. CABG cannot be entirely replaced by coronary stenting; similarly, DCB will not be competitive with stenting.

Dissections are acceptable as long as they are not flow limiting or produce stagnant dye.