Dedicated Bifurcation Stents

Bifurcations still remain one of the most challenging lesions to be treated in the modern PCI era. They are associated with lower procedural success rates, higher rates of periprocedural complications, and complicated long-term outcomes. Their incidence is assessed to be approximately 15–20%. There is still debate on how should they be treated—one-stent versus two-stent techniques, whether there is a need for obligatory proximal optimization or kissing balloons. Multiple clinical trials have tested different PCI strategies. We will cover theoretical basics of treating bifurcations and describe different types of dedicated bifurcation stents—Nile PAX, Nile SIR, BiOSS Expert, BiOSS LIM, Stentys Tryton, and Axxess Plus. We will discuss the data from studies comparing these bifurcation devices and will show our own experience and results working with these devices. There will be a discussion, tips, and tricks treating bifurcation lesions with dedicated devices—most common pitfalls and how to deal with them