Four second- and third-generation coronary stents were evaluated using QCA and intravascular ultrasound for adequacy of stent expansion, the influence of disease burden on adequacy of deployment, and postdeployment structural effects on the artery. Despite satisfactory stent deployment rates on angiography of 92 %, adequate stent deployment by IVUS ranged from 38% to 55%. There was no significant difference in deployment success across the four stent types. Lesions with significant plaque burden were associated with a lower rate of deployment success (P = 0.04). Twenty-one edge dissections were demonstrated by IVUS; only six were detected by angiography. Observations made on first-generation stents regarding adequacy of deployment still hold true for newer-generation stents. Significant plaque burden is an independent negative predictor of stent deployment success. The presence of IVUS-detected edge dissections indicates that the extent of injury during PCI extends beyond the physical length of the stent.