Aspiration After Sealing the Entrance by Stenting Is a Promising Method to Treat Subintimal Hematoma

Iatrogenic coronary dissection: state of the art management

Iatrogenic coronary artery dissections (ICAD) are rare but potentially devastating complications during coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Intima media complex separation may be produced either by the catheter tip or during PCI. Patient characteristics and procedure related risk factors are intimately linked to catheter induced ICAD over diagnostic angiography. Moreover, the increasing complexity of patients undergoing PCI, which frequently involves treatment of heavily calcified or occluded vessels, has increased the likelihood of dissections during PCI. A prompt recognition, along with a prompt management (either percutaneous, surgical or even careful watching), are key in preventing catastrophic consequences of ICAD, such as left ventricular dysfunction, cardiogenic shock, periprocedural myocardial infarction (MI) or cardiac death. This review aims to summarize the main updates concerning the pathophysiology, highlight key risk factors and suggest recommendations in management and treatment of ICAD.

Iatrogenic Dissection of the Left Internal Mammary Artery During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Jump Radial Artery Graft Bifurcation Disease: A Case Report

Guide-catheter-induced ostial coronary artery dissection is a feared complication of percutaneous coronary intervention, but thankfully the incidence is low. We describe a case of catheter-induced ostial dissection of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) with multiple radial jump grafts during percutaneous coronary intervention of radial graft bifurcation disease via the LIMA. The dissection led to loss of flow and profound haemodynamic compromise and cardiac arrest as the LIMA supplied the majority of the myocardium in this patient. Intravascular ultrasound was not immediately available, so an Export AP thrombus aspiration catheter (Medtronic) was used over the coronary wire in place to allow the injection of contrast while simultaneously pulling back on the catheter to delineate the extent of the dissection and guide accurate drug-eluting stent placement. The report is a cautionary tale to the reader to treat the LIMA with respect and think long and hard before considering any interventional procedure that uses the LIMA as a conduit.

An Unusual Case of Long-Segment Dissection of the Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery During Osteoproximal Chronic Total Occlusion Intervention

Coronary artery dissection can occur after post-balloon inflation; however, a very long-segment coronary dissection (>50 mm) is a rare occurrence during routine coronary interventions. Here, we report an extremely rare case of long-segment coronary dissection in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) induced during antegrade revascularization of chronic total occlusion of osteoproximal LAD with stiffer Gaia II wire. The patient had excruciating angina with hemodynamic collapse and acute pulmonary edema; the patient was rescued with long-segment coronary revascularization.