Successful retrieval of an unexpanded coronary stent from the left main coronary artery during primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

INTRODUCTION: Dislodgement and embolization of the new generation of coronary stents before their deployment are rare but could constitute a very serious complication. CASE OUTLINE: We report a case of a stent dislodgement into the left main coronary artery during the primary coronary intervention of infarct related left circumflex artery in a patient with acute myocardial infarction. The dislodged and unexpanded bare-metal stent FlexMaster 3.0x19 mm (Abbot Vascular) was stranded and bended in the left main coronary artery (LMCA), probably by the tip of the guiding catheter, but stayed over the guidewire. It was successfully retrieved using a low-profile Ryujin 1.25x15 balloon catheter (Terumo) that was passed through the stent, inflated and then pulled back into the guiding catheter. After that, the whole system was withdrawn through the 6 F arterial sheath via the transfemoral approach. After repeated cannulation via the 6F arterial sheath, additional BMW and ATW guidewires were introduced into the posterolateral and obtuse marginal branches and a bare-metal stent Driver (Medtronic Cardiovascular Inc) 3.0x18 mm was implanted in the target lesion. CONCLUSION: Stent dislodgement is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of the percutaneous coronary intervention. This incident occurring in the LMCA in particular during an acute myocardial infarction requires to be urgently resolved. The avoidance of rough manipulation with the guiding catheter and delivery system may help in preventing this kind of complications.