Comparison of cutting balloon vs stenting alone in small branch ostial lesions of native coronary arteries

Atherectomy and Specialty Balloons in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Interventional cardiologists are increasingly being called upon to perform complex revascularization in patients who are deemed not to be candidates for surgical revascularization and, until recently, many of these patients would have only been offered medical management. Further, changing demographics have resulted in an increasingly elderly and frail population with diabetes and chronic kidney disease being referred for revascularization. Owing to the increasing prevalence of coronary artery calcification and the importance of achieving complete revascularization, advanced tools and techniques are required to safely revascularize this patient population.

RECENT FINDINGS

Coronary artery calcification is a marker for increased periprocedural complications and worse long-term outcomes in percutaneous intervention. Its presence may mandate advanced revascularization strategies to facilitate safe revascularization. Several studies have highlighted the importance of intracoronary imaging and there have been iterative changes and new devices that have been developed that can facilitate revascularization in the setting of significant coronary artery calcification. Successful coronary revascularization is increasingly dependent on the rational use of intraavascular imaging, specialized balloons and atherectomy to overcome complex coronary artery disease and calcification. A rational strategy for the safe use of advanced techniques and tools is presented here.

Intravascular ultrasound predictors of side branch occlusion in bifurcation lesions after percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of bifurcation lesion has been associated with a low success rate and a high incidence of procedural complications, including side branch occlusion and myocardial infarction. It remains controversial whether preintervention intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) findings can help to identify side branches likely to occlude after PCI of bifurcation lesions.

METHODS AND RESULTS

From our IVUS database we identified 81 bifurcation lesions in 72 patients. Side branches were classified into 2 groups: group 1 had ostial side branch stenosis due to atherosclerotic plaque only in the main vessel (n=61), and group 2 had plaque truly involved in the side branch ostium (n=20). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the extent of ostial stenosis as assessed by angiography. After PCI, 7 side branches occluded in group 2, compared with 5 side branches occluded in group 1 (35% vs 8%, p=0.003).

CONCLUSION

Ostial plaque distribution as assessed by IVUS may be one of the consistent predictors of side branch occlusion after PCI.