Stent fracture: a new villain of the village.

Stent strut fracture (SSF) may be an important complication after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation particularly in patients undergoing sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) implantation. The occurrence of SSF at 6 to 9 months after the SES implantation, which was relatively common, resulted in a higher rate of focal in-stent restenosis. Although this angiographic unfavorable outcome did not lead to an increased risk of adverse cardiac events in the current study, we believe that large-scale prospective studies are needed to elucidate the exact pathophysiology and clinical sequela of the stent strut fracture, including bare metal stents.