PinnacleHealth delivers ABSORB BVS device to first patient after FDA approval

The same PinnacleHealth team that participated in a three-year clinical trial designed to evaluate potential benefits of a first-of-its-kind drug eluting ABSORB Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS), today announced it deployed the device for the first time after FDA approval for commercial use. The recipient was the first in Pennsylvania to receive the device post-trial and the first patient in the in the United States treated with a BVS for heart attack.

ABSORB is referred to as a scaffold to indicate its temporary nature, unlike a permanent metallic stent. ABSORB works by restoring blood flow to the heart, keeping the vessel open until it can stay open on its own and then dissolving completely over time. The trial showed that ABSORB performed as well as a drug-coated metallic stent.

Coronary artery disease is commonly treated with metal stents, which are tiny mesh tubes that prop open clogged heart arteries. In contrast, the new stent is made of a material, called polylactide, similar to dissolving medical stitches that slowly disappears in about two years. Patients benefit because ABSORB treats the vessel and dissolves, allowing the artery to resume more natural function and movement because it is free of a metallic implant.

"As a physician, it is invigorating to be a part of clinical research that positively impacts our patients in central Pennsylvania," said William Bachinsky, MD, FACC, FSCAI director of cardiovascular research and the cardiac catheterization labs at PinnacleHealth. "By participating in clinical trials at PinnacleHealth, we bring cutting-edge technology to the region years before FDA approval for commercial use."