The disappearing stent: when plastic replaces metal.

When metallic stents were first introduced in 1986, they offered immediate promise. Vessel scaffolding, which created a wide patent lumen, was conceived as an attractive solution to dissection, acute recoil, and abrupt closure, which were the main shortcomings of balloon angioplasty.1 Furthermore, in comparison with balloon angioplasty, the use of metallic stents was associated with a significant reduction in restenosis rates. It was not long after their introduction that metal stents became the default device for coronary intervention; nearly every lesion in the coronary artery that could accommodate a stent, received one, and the phrase “Full Metal Jacket” became jargon in the interventional cardiology field.2