Intravascular coronary lithotripsy for the treatment of iatrogenic calcium embolization: The "block and crack" technique.

Intracoronary calcium embolization during percutaneous procedure is a very rare and unpredictable event, that  can lead to serious complications and even expert operators could face some technical issues to solve it. This case report presents a technique called "block and crack" used to manage iatrogenic intracoronary calcium embolization of left anterior descending coronary artery. The technique involves implanting a drug eluting stent (DES) to block the embolus against the vessel wall, followed by the use of lithotripsy balloon inflated inside the DES to crack the calcium and achieve a better stent expansion. This technique allowed to avoid further distal calcium embolization as well as to minimize residual stenosis degree after stent implantation.

Slender distal radial five French coronary shockwave lithotripsy.

Despite technological evolution, percutaneous coronary interventions targeting coronary calcifications remain challenging and associated with high rates of complications and adverse outcomes. Over the years, rotational atherectomy has emerged as the reference treatment of calcified coronary artery lesions despite some inherent limitations. Also, rotational atherectomy typically requires relatively large guiding catheters which may unfavorably impact on the decision for transradial access, especially when radial artery is small, and consequently offset the relevant clinical benefits associated to transradial access. Recently, a new technology has been introduced in interventional practice to implement coronary lithotripsy. The device implements multiple small emitters enclosed in a coronary balloon creating sonic pressure waves to selectively fracture calcium within the plaque and favorably modify vessel compliance. Owing to its specific design, coronary shockwave lithotripsy could be used with small bore guiding catheters which may allow for straightforward transradial percutaneous treatment of calcified coronary lesions even in patients with a small radial artery. To illustrate this concept, we report the first experience of slender transradial coronary shockwave lithotripsy with a five French sheathless guiding catheter.

Coronary Intravascular Lithotripsy Effectiveness and Safety in a Real-World Cohort.

Background: Coronary artery calcification is a predictor of adverse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is a promising tool for the treatment of calcified lesions. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of IVL. Methods: A single-center observational study of PCI procedure, with assessment of the outcomes of patients undergoing PCI using IVL, was performed. Angiographic procedural success was used as the primary effectiveness endpoint. The primary safety endpoint was defined as a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularization within 30 days. Results: A total of 111 patients were included. Indications for PCI spanned the spectrum of chronic (53.2%) and acute coronary syndromes (43%). Lesion preparation before IVL was performed with non-compliant (42%), cutting or OPN (14.4%) balloons and with atherectomy techniques in 11% of procedures. Intravascular imaging was used in 21.6% of procedures. The primary effectiveness endpoint was achieved in 100% and the primary safety endpoint in 3.6% of procedures. Peri-procedural complications were minimal and successfully resolved. Conclusions: IVL was an effective and safe technique for the treatment of calcified coronary lesions. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of IVL in the management of these challenging scenarios.

Real-World Multicenter Coronary Lithotripsy Registry: Long-Term Clinical Follow-Up.

OBJECTIVES: Coronary lithotripsy (CL) works by fracturing the calcified plaque, allowing mean area gain, enhancing vessel compliance, and facilitating stent deployment. This study reports the safety, effectiveness, and durability of the clinical benefit of CL at long-term follow-up of a real-world multicenter registry. METHODS: This was a prospective, multicenter, single-arm study that included consecutive patients with calcified lesions undergoing CL from August, 2018 to October, 2020 with a clinical follow-up of 20 months (interquartile range, 14.5-25). Exclusion criteria were a target lesion located in a vessel <2.5 mm and/or the presence of dissection prior to CL. The primary endpoint was the rate of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE, defined as death or target-lesion revascularization [TLR] or myocardial infarction [MI]) at follow-up. RESULTS: This registry included 109 patients (128 lesions). The population was elderly (mean age, 74 years old), with high rates of diabetic patients (58%), renal insufficiency (32%), and multivessel disease (76%). Most of the lesions were predilated with semicompliant/noncompliant balloons (25 with cutting balloon). Rotational atherectomy was used in 20 lesions. On average, CL required the use of 1 balloon delivering a mean of 60 pulses. Twelve patients presented with ST-segment-elevation MI and a culprit calcified coronary lesion undergoing CL. Successful CL was achieved in 99% of cases. There were few procedural complications, with 30-day freedom from MACE rate of 98%. The MACE rate at long-term follow-up was 5.6%. CONCLUSION: This is the first real-world, multicenter registry that confirms the safety and long-term efficacy of percutaneous coronary intervention for calcified lesions using CL in an unselected and high-risk population with a low long-term follow-up MACE rate.

Shockwave intravascular lithotripsy in the treatment of under-expanded coronary stent: Case Series.

Under-expanded coronary stent related to inadequate preparation of calcified lesion is associated with poor clinical outcomes.Off-label use of S-IVL to correct this clinical issue is effective and safe, probably more than other current techniques. However, this statement needs further evidence.

Coronary lithoplasty for calcified lesions: real-world multicenter registry.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Coronary lithoplasty (CL) is a balloon-based technique used to treat calcified lesions. This study reports the initial experience of treatment of calcified lesions with CL in an unselected and high-risk population. METHODS: This was a prospective, multicenter registry, which included all consecutive cases with calcified coronary lesions that underwent CL between August, 2018 and August, 2019. Exclusion criteria consisted of a target lesion located in a small vessel (< 2.5mm) and the presence of dissection prior to CL. Quantitative coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound/optical coherence tomography analysis were completed by an independent central core laboratory. RESULTS: This registry included 57 patients (66 lesions). The population was elderly (72.6±9.4 years) with high proportions of patients with diabetes (56%), chronic kidney disease (35%), and multivessel disease (84%). All lesions were classified as type B/C. More than 75% of lesions were predilated with noncompliant/semicompliant balloons or cutting-balloon. Rotablator was used in 5 lesions (7.6%) prelithoplasty. On average, CL required 1.17 balloons delivering a mean of 60 pulses. Successful CL was achieved in 98%. In 13% of cases, lithoplasty balloon was broken during therapy. There were few procedural complications: 2 cases of significant dissections (none related to lithoplasty balloon rupture) were successfully treated with drug-eluting stent implantation. One patient experienced stent thrombosis 2 days after successfully undergoing target lesion revascularization. CONCLUSIONS: This is a real-world multicenter registry, which supports the feasibility, safety, and short-term efficacy of PCI for calcified coronary lesions using CL in an unselected and high-risk population with promising results.

The Coronary Intravascular Lithotripsy System.

Calcified lesions often mean percutaneous intervention results are suboptimal and increase the risk of procedural complications and future adverse events. Available plaque-modifying devices rely on tissue compression or debulking, with the intention of fracturing calcium and facilitating optimal stent deployment. In contrast, coronary intravascular lithotripsy delivers unfocused, circumferential, pulsatile mechanical energy to safely disrupt the calcium within the target lesion. The present review summarises the evidence available so far on this therapy and includes a practical description of the components and function of the Shockwave Intravascular Lithotripsy System (Shockwave Medical).