Improved support for right coronary artery angioplasty with a new guiding catheter

Inadequate guiding catheter support is a frequent cause for failure in right coronary angioplasty (PTCA). A new guiding catheter designed to provide easy placement in the right coronary and improved stability and backup support is described. Use of this catheter for PTCA of right coronary lesions, the majority of which were considered technically difficult to dilate, in 100 patients resulted in successful dilatations in 88% of patients. Failures were due to inability to seat the guide adequately in 8 patients with narrow aortic roots or unusual coronary origins and to inability to cross a lesion in 4 patients despite good support. In 4 patients successful dilatation was achieved after failure using another presently available guide.     

Improved support for right coronary artery angioplasty with a new guiding catheter.

Inadequate guiding catheter support is a frequent cause for failure in right coronary angioplasty (PTCA). A new guiding catheter designed to provide easy placement in the right coronary and improved stability and backup support is described. Use of this catheter for PTCA of right coronary lesions, the majority of which were considered technically difficult to dilate, in 100 patients resulted in successful dilatations in 88% of patients. Failures were due to inability to seat the guide adequately in 8 patients with narrow aortic roots or unusual coronary origins and to inability to cross a lesion in 4 patients despite good support. In 4 patients successful dilatation was achieved after failure using another presently available guide.     

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty using a steerable guiding catheter: a new technique

A new type of steerable guiding catheter is described for use in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). It is simple to use and externally steerable. The catheter incorporates a steering system by means of which the catheter tip can be made to assume the form of either a right or left Judkins catheter or to be fixed in any intermediate configuration, entirely through external manipulation. We used this new guiding catheter to perform PTCA on 15 patients. Single lesions were found in the left anterior descending branch in seven patients, in the right coronary artery in four, and in the circumflex artery in two, whereas stenosis of a coronary bypass graft was found in two patients. Angioplasty was successful in all cases. There were no complications, during either the procedure or the postoperative hospitalization. The steerable guiding catheter described here may prove useful for PTCA in cases where a conventional catheter cannot be placed accurately or in cases with multi-vessel coronary disease.     

Guiding catheter exchange during coronary angioplasty

A new technique to exchange one angioplasty guiding catheter for another with the guide wire in place and across a coronary artery stenosis has been developed to decrease the dangers of having to recross the stenosis with a guide wire. This technique utilizes a regular extended angioplasty guide wire and enables the exchange of guiding catheters during the angioplasty procedure. In 683 consecutive angioplasty procedures by one operator, this technique has been attempted 57 times in 43 patients (6.3%) and has been successful 51 times (90%). The only failures were when the second catheter had a large or open curve (left Amplatz II, 5/22 unsuccessful or multipurpose, 1/3 unsuccessful). There have been no complications. We conclude that exchange of a guiding catheter over a guide wire by the method described is safe and helpful in cases where different guiding catheters are needed for back-up power once the lesion has been crossed with a guide wire.     

Applications of a novel balloon catheter during coronary angioplasty

A new balloon catheter design utilizing multiple polymeric materials to produce noncompliant balloon ends and a compliant central portion has recently been released. We describe two cases, a discrete fibrotic lesion and final dilation of an intracoronary stent, in which this novel balloon catheter has potential advantages during coronary angioplasty. We conclude that this device may be useful in avoiding proximal or distal vessel dissection during high-pressure balloon inflations. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Diagn. 40:207–209, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Fracture of a perfusion balloon catheter during coronary angioplasty

In a 74-year-old patient with increasing angina, an attempt was made to dilate an ostial stenosis in the first diagonal artery. The initial attempt with a long balloon catheter was unsuccessful. Because of chest pain associated with hypotension during balloon inflations, a second attempt with a perfusion balloon catheter resulted in fracture of this catheter's tip (14 mm long) in the artery. Bypass graft surgery was performed and the retained fragment was easily removed by arteriotomy. The patient made an uneventful recovery. © 1994 Wiley-Liss,Inc..     

Air embolism in the right coronary artery occurring during the left coronary angioplasty using the guiding catheter with a side hole.

Coronary air embolism is one of the inadvertent complications of coronary angioplasty. We report two rare cases of complicating air embolism in the right coronary artery occurring during control left coronary angiography using a guiding catheter with a side hole, just prior to a coronary intervention procedure for a left coronary artery lesion. The air seemed to be injected into the right coronary artery through the side hole. When we use an angiographic or guiding catheter with a side hole, we should be aware that an air embolism can occur in the contralateral coronary artery and should carefully and repeatedly perform aspiration of the catheter.     

Double wire technique for additional guiding catheter support in anomalous left circumflex coronary artery angioplasty

This case report presents an example of the use of the double wire technique for additional guiding catheter bracing support in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of a stenosis in an anomalous circumflex (CX) artery arising within the ostium of the right coronary artery (RCA). It illustrates the ease of this technique in comparison to conventional guiding catheter cannulation, which may be more difficult and yield poor backup support in this unusual anatomic situation.     

Coronary artery perforation during coronary angioplasty

In one patient percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty was complicated by coronary artery perforation of the left anterior descending coronary artery with light pericardial effusion. The outcome was favorable without either pericardiocentesis or emergency surgery.     

Acute coronary artery angioplasty during pregnancy

A 31-yr-old white female, prima-gravida at 30 weeks gestation, presented with an acute inferolateral myocardial infarction. Acute coronary arteriography revealed an occluded circumflex artery, which was angioplastied acutely. Previous acute interventions, alternatives, and risks are discussed. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Outcome after major dissection during coronary angioplasty using the perfusion balloon catheter

Coronary artery dissection is an infrequent but serious complication of coronary angioplasty that can lead to periprocedural vessel occlusion, emergency bypass surgery, myocardial infarction or death. Recently, a perfusion balloon catheter was developed that permits passive perfusion of blood through the central lumen of the catheter. It enables prolonged balloon inflations to be performed and has been used to provide distal blood flow after coronary occlusion. To evaluate the effectiveness of the perfusion balloon catheter in patients with major coronary dissections, 36 consecutive patients treated with the perfusion balloon catheter were compared with 46 consecutive patients treated before its availability. The 2 groups were similar in terms of clinical, angiographic and initial procedural characteristics. Use of the perfusion balloon catheter permitted a significantly longer inflation than standard balloon inflation (average 18 +/- 5 min). Angiographic success was significantly greater with the perfusion balloon catheter (84 vs 62% for conventional therapy), whereas complications were markedly reduced (48 vs 78%). With the perfusion balloon catheter there were fewer deaths (2 vs 6%), myocardial infarctions (14 vs 40%) and emergency bypass operations (11 vs 25%). The findings of this retrospective comparison demonstrate that the perfusion balloon catheter is effective for the management of major dissections after coronary angioplasty. The use of the perfusion balloon catheter should be considered when a major coronary dissection occurs and when emergency bypass surgery is contemplated.     

Simultaneous double balloon coronary angioplasty through a single guiding catheter for bifurcation lesions

To enhance the safety, efficacy and expediency of coronary bifurcation lesion angioplasty, we report the use of two dilatation catheters, advanced simultaneously through a single guide catheter in three patients. Successful dilatation was performed in each. The technique involves the use of either two new low-profile dilatation catheters in an 8 French large lumen guide catheter or a single new low-profile dilatation catheter coupled with a conventional over-the-wire catheter within a new large lumen 9 French guide.     

Unintended stent extraction from a coronary artery during bifurcation coronary angioplasty

We report an elective angioplasty of a left circumflex artery (LCx) bifurcation lesion treated by provisional stenting. With a "jailed" wire in the first obtuse marginal, we deployed a 3.0 x 28 mm drug-eluting stent into the main branch. The jailed wire was tangled up in a tortuous side branch. We were unable to retrieve the wire. Forceful wire removal led to an unintended extraction of the fully deployed stent from the main branch.     

Successful treatment of coronary artery perforation during angioplasty using a new membrane-coated stent

We report a case of successful treatment of coronary artery perforation and cardiac tamponade, which developed during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, with a PTFE-coated stent. Intravascular ultrasound was first used to overcome the shortcomings of conventional angiography and overlapping of a conventional stent was not as effective as coated-stent placement in sealing a further leakage. Thus, PTFE-coated stents may be an effective alternative to emergency surgery or autologous venous covered stenting and should be considered when coronary artery perforation occurs.     

Double wire technique for additional guiding catheter support in anomalous left circumflex coronary artery angioplasty.

This case report presents an example of the use of the double wire technique for additional guiding catheter bracing support in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of a stenosis in an anomalous circumflex (CX) artery arising within the ostium of the right coronary artery (RCA). It illustrates the ease of this technique in comparison to conventional guiding catheter cannulation, which may be more difficult and yield poor backup support in this unusual anatomic situation.     

Closure of a persistant femoral artery pseudoaneurysm complicating coronary angioplasty using the femostop compression device and direct ultrasound visualization

Nonsurgical closure of femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (PSA), using ultrasound guidance and compression with the ultrasound probe or a C-clamp, has been previously described. We report a patient in whom a different compression device was used (the Femostop ^TM ) which also allows direct ultrasound visualization of the PSA and femoral vessels at the site of compression. This resulted in adequate PSA with preservation of flow in both artery and vein throughout the procedure.