The First Balloon-Expandable Coronary Stent ─ An Expedition That Changed Cardiovascular Medicine

The premise of this intriguing book is technical innovation and scientific development. It is about coronary and vascular stenting, a technique that has improved the plight of patients who have unfortunately succumbed to the most devastating epidemic facing modern man—coronary and vascular atherosclerosis. It is also about a lifetime and a career devoted to finding safer, effective, and less invasive solutions to these clinical problems. Gary S. Roubin, MD, PhD, writes of the pioneering work done by Andreas Gruentzig on balloon angioplasty for peripheral and coronary arteries. After Gruentzig’s untimely death, Roubin was determined that Gruentzig’s method would indeed work. He writes of the work involved to get the balloon-expandable coronary stent to the point where it was deployed in man: September 3, 1987, and follows its development to the current day. This is an account of the expedition that began with the Model T Ford of cardiovascular intervention—an endeavor that evolved into the Ferrari that we know today. This personal story tells of the collaboration of inventors, physician scientists, engineers, and the cardiovascular device industry that has changed the practice of cardiovascular medicine forever.

Gary S. Roubin, MD, PhD, is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist, recognized for his groundbreaking work in the development of the first FDA-approved coronary stent, as well as in pioneering the techniques of carotid stenting and embolic protection devices. He has published more than 250 papers and 225 abstracts in journals, edited three textbooks, and contributed to other textbooks. He is currently the medical director at Cardiovascular Associates of the Southeast. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama.