Zilver PTX vs Eluvia: Why Easier Reinterventions Matter

Dr Jos van den Berg reviews Dr Tsuyoshi Shibata’s REAL-DES and REAL-ISR multicenter studies out of Japan. These studies compared the Zilver PTX (Cook Medical) and Eluvia (Boston Scientific) drug-eluting stents through 3 years. While the clinically driven target lesion revascularization rates were similar, Zilver PTX patients returned with significantly fewer occlusions than patients treated with Eluvia. Dr van den Berg suggests that the failure mode matters, as restenosis allows for a simpler, faster, and less costly procedure than a complex occlusion.