Salvage atherectomy: Using retrieved tissue to determine the etiology of acute closure

Directional coronary atherectomy was successfully performed in the mid-left anterior descending artery at the site of failed balloon angioplasty. We presumed that intracoronary thrombus had resulted in acute vessel closure following balloon angioplasty, due to the angiographic appearance of the lesion and the clinical situation. However, examination of the extracted specimen from the atherectomy device revealed predominantly atheromatous tissue with minimal thrombus. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.