Provisional TAP-stenting strategy to treat bifurcated lesions with drug-eluting stents: one-year clinical results of a prospective registry.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical outcome of unselected patients undergoing drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation on bifurcated lesions using a "provisional T And small Protrusion (TAP)" stenting strategy. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing DES implantation on one major bifurcation lesion were treated by main-vessel (MV) stenting, followed (if needed) by side-branch (SB) rewiring (with a "pullback" technique) and kissing balloon. SB stenting was performed according to the TAP-technique in selected cases. The endpoint of the study was a 12-month incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), stent thrombosis and target vessel revascularization (TVR). RESULTS: The study population included 266 patients (9% unprotected left main). Only 19 patients (7.1%) (with more complex angiographic features) received stents in both the MV and SB using the TAP-technique. Overall, 22 (8.2%) patients had MACE at 1 year. Observed, non-hierarchical MACE were: 1 (0.4%) cardiac death, 11 (4.1%) MI, 2 probable stent thromboses and 12 (4.5%) TVRs. Postprocedural troponin T increase and adverse events up to 12 months were similar between patients treated by MV stenting only or double stenting. CONCLUSIONS: In unselected patients undergoing DES implantation on bifurcated lesions, a provisional TAP-stenting strategy (with a low rate of SB stenting) appears to be safe and effective.