Bifurcation disease: what do we know, what should we do?

Abstract

The percutaneous treatment of coronary bifurcations has moved past an important milestone in that the 1- versus 2-stent debate appears to have been resolved. The provisional approach of implanting one stent on the main branch should be the default approach in most bifurcations lesions. Selection of the most appropriate strategy for an individual bifurcation is important. Some bifurcations require 1 stent, whereas others require the stenting of both branches. Irrespective of whether a 1- or 2-stent strategy is chosen, the results after bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have dramatically improved. Dedicated bifurcation stents are an exciting new technology that may further simplify the management of bifurcation PCI and change some of these concepts.