Heart saver that clears arteries then dissolves

A heart patient has become the first in London to be fitted with a device that opens up a blocked artery and then disappears.

Medics at King's College Hospital fitted the 67-year-old typesetter from Kent with bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS).

They are being hailed as a big step forward in the battle against coronary heart disease. Previously, patients would have been fitted with a metal stent, which opens up the clogged artery, allowing oxygen-rich blood to pass through. But the stent remains in the body and this can lead to complications because it is pressing on the vessel.

A BVS does the same job — but it dissolves slowly after the vessel has healed and no longer needs support. It is made of polyactide, a material used in implants such as dissolvable sutures for wounds.

The patient is said to be doing well following last week's surgery at the hospital in Denmark Hill. His treatment was part of the UK trial of the device, made by healthcare firm Abbott.

Dr Jonathan Hill of King's Health Partners, which carried out the procedure, said: "This is an exciting step forward."

Dr Simon Redwood, a heart specialist at St Thomas' Hospital, said the BVS "has the potential
to be one of the most important innovations in interventional cardiology". Coronary heart disease kills thousands in London every year.

Most heart attacks occur when an artery narrows due to a build-up of fatty material.