Great news-a few days ago I had the chance to use a sirolimus-coated balloon for coronary PCI in the first european patient (to say the truth, the first patient of the western world)!!

This very promising device just obtained the CE Mark for this application. A long way is ahead and I am really excited to be part of this adventure in designing a strict scientific program on the matter. In fact, no one wants to repeat the mistakes of the paclitaxel-eluting technology, that has only now reached a reliable scientific background.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure to be invited at the CLIC, a cardiovascular meeting organized by Dr Amico in Caltanissetta. The event had the scientific background of some renown physicians from the group of Prof Tamburino in Catania, and I had the pleasure to be the only “continental” physician invited!

The meeting was of high scientific level and the discussion was interactive and interesting.

I contributed with a speech entitled “Incomplete revascularization and drug-coated balloons”, a setting where DCB may have a specific role. I also gave some contributions regarding biovascular scaffolds during the discussion. Give a look at the nice pics.

A few weeks ago, our study on DCB in native coronary vessels left with a dissection was published in JACC Int, and we had the honor of receiving a dedicated Editorial from 2 experts on the field: R Byrne and M Joner. Their conclusion was different from ours from several points of view, so we deemed necessary to underline further aspects and we wrote a Letter to the Editor.