Novel use of a peripheral, self-expanding nitinol stent in adjunct to excimer laser coronary atherectomy in the treatment of degenerated vein graft disease.

Decades of successful surgical revascularization of coronary artery disease have led to a growing population with saphenous vein graft disease. However, the treatment of degenerated saphenous vein graft still remains controversial. We report a novel but successful use of a peripheral, self-expanding nitinol stent in adjunct to excimer laser coronary atherectomy (ELCA) in the treatment of symptomatic, degenerated saphenous vein graft disease. The procedure was tolerated well without any short- or long-term complications. The case report is followed by a review of the literature on the treatment of vein graft disease.

The first clinical experience with a peripheral, self-expanding nitinol stent in the treatment of saphenous vein graft disease: angiographic evidence of late expansion.

The ideal intervention for degenerated saphenous vein grafts (SVG) is still controversial. We report the first use of a peripheral, self-expanding nitinol stent in the treatment of a patient with symptomatic SVG disease. The procedure was well tolerated, without any short- or long-term complications. Quantitative coronary analysis of a 3-month follow-up angiogram revealed a continued expansion of the nitinol stent. Larger scale trials are warranted to evaluate whether the self-expanding nitinol stents can be used alone or in adjunct to other modalities for the treatment of SVG disease. The case report is followed by a literature review of SVG stenting.

Real-time ultrasound guidance facilitates femoral arterial access and reduces vascular complications: FAUST (Femoral Arterial Access With Ultrasound Trial).

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the procedural and clinical outcomes of femoral arterial access with ultrasound (US) guidance with standard fluoroscopic guidance. BACKGROUND: Real-time US guidance reduces time to access, number of attempts, and complications in central venous access but has not been adequately assessed in femoral artery cannulation. METHODS: Patients (n = 1,004) undergoing retrograde femoral arterial access were randomized 1:1 to either fluoroscopic or US guidance. The primary end point was successful common femoral artery (CFA) cannulation by femoral angiography. Secondary end points included time to sheath insertion, number of forward needle advancements, first pass success, accidental venipunctures, and vascular access complications at 30 days. RESULTS: Compared with fluoroscopic guidance, US guidance produced no difference in CFA cannulation rates (86.4% vs. 83.3%, p = 0.17), except in the subgroup of patients with CFA bifurcations occurring over the femoral head (82.6% vs. 69.8%, p < 0.01). US guidance resulted in an improved first-pass success rate (83% vs. 46%, p < 0.0001), reduced number of attempts (1.3 vs. 3.0, p < 0.0001), reduced risk of venipuncture (2.4% vs. 15.8%, p < 0.0001), and reduced median time to access (136 s vs. 148 s, p = 0.003). Vascular complications occurred in 7 of 503 and 17 of 501 in the US and fluoroscopy groups, respectively (1.4% vs. 3.4% p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: In this multicenter randomized controlled trial, routine real-time US guidance improved CFA cannulation only in patients with high CFA bifurcations but reduced the number of attempts, time to access, risk of venipunctures, and vascular complications in femoral arterial access. (Femoral Arterial Access With Ultrasound Trial [FAUST]; NCT00667381).

Gadolinium-based percutaneous coronary intervention in a patient with renal insufficiency.

We report the first case of using gadolinium as a contrast agent to perform percutaneous coronary intervention in a patient with an acute coronary syndrome and a history of renal insufficiency. The procedure was well tolerated without any complications or nephrotoxicity. The images obtained with gadolinium were of good quality.