The safety and feasibility of bilateral radial approach in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention.

Few studies have reported results for transradial (TR) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of bilateral radial PCI for CTO lesions.Eighty-five consecutive patients with CTO lesions received PCI via a bilateral TR approach. A high radial artery puncture (10-15 cm above styloid process) accommodating a 7 Fr catheter (85 cm long) was used for a retrograde approach, and a 6 Fr catheter was used in the other radial artery for an antegrade approach. Retrograde wiring was conducted primarily or after failure of antegrade wiring. Mean duration of CTO was 42.8 ± 54.9 months. Vessels with occlusions attempted were the left anterior descending artery (40.0%; 34/85), right coronary artery (58.8%; 50/85), and left circumflex artery (1/85). PCI re-attempts were made in 41.2% of the cases. The overall success rate was 87.1%. Retrograde wiring was successful in 61/85 cases (71.8%), via septal collaterals followed by epicardial collaterals and saphenous vein graft. There were no major complications (30 day in-hospital death, Q wave myocardial infarction, or emergency bypass surgery), or serious access site complications.For experienced TR-PCI operators who are already doing complex TR coronary interventions, the bilateral radial approach for CTO lesions appears feasible and safe.

Complete stent dislodgement after successful implantation--a rare case.

A successfully deployed stent is normally stable in position and unlikely to be dislodged from the coronary artery. We report a case of complete stent dislodgement after successful implantation in a patient with recent anterior myocardial infarction (AMI). Coronary angulation, a highly calcified coronary artery, an under-deployed stent, and the process of rewiring contributed to this unexpected event. Fortunately, no unwanted complication occurred as a consequence of this event.

Transradial carotid stenting in a patient with bovine arch anatomy.

Carotid stenting in difficult arch anatomy can be safely done by transradial route depending upon operator's experience. Left carotid artery stenosis with bovine arch anatomy can be approached by right arm approach (radial/brachial) easily. In cases with bovine arch anatomy, left arm approach by modified looping technique is still possible. We report a case of carotid stenting in a patient with bovine arch anatomy using percusurge anchoring technique through left radial approach.

Transradial and transbrachial arterial approach for simultaneous carotid angiographic examination and stenting using catheter looping and retrograde engagement technique.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel and safe technique with high procedural success for carotid artery stenting (CAS). METHODS: From April 2004 to May 2009, 161 patients underwent CAS using either a high transradial arterial approach (TRA, defined as 10 cm above styloid process) or a transbrachial arterial approach (TBA) with a 7F arterial sheath. Selective carotid angiography was performed using a 6F Kimny guiding catheter and Teflon wire (260 cm in length) by Catheter Looping And Retrograde Engagement Technique (CLARET) with the guiding catheter seated on the right coronary cusp and its tip engaged into the common carotid artery (CCA). Teflon wire was introduced into the CCA again after the diagnostic procedure, followed by replacement of the 6F Kimny guiding catheter by a 7F Kimny catheter for CAS using one of the following techniques: (1) direct-engagement method, i.e., from right innominate artery into the right CCA; (2) looping method plus double-wire technique (utilized two Teflon wires to provide an adequate support) for both the right and left CCA; and (3) looping method plus a PercuSurge balloon anchoring at the external carotid artery. RESULTS: This distinctive technique offered 100% diagnostic success and 99.4% CAS success. Two patients (1.2%) experienced major ischemic stroke after CAS and two (1.2%) died during hospitalization. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that high TRA/TBA using CLARET for CAS in patients with severe carotid artery stenosis is safe and technically feasible with an extremely high success rate.

Safety and efficacy of transradial vs transfemoral arterial primary coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction: single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the transradial arterial approach (TRA) is not inferior to the transfemoral arterial approach (TFA) for

Six-month angiographic study of immediate autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell implantation on acute anterior wall myocardial infarction using a mini-pig model.

This study investigated six-month angiographic results of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMNC) transplantation immediately following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a mini-pig model.AMI was induced by left anterior descending artery ligation. Twenty-four mini-pigs were equally divided into group 1 [AMI plus saline injection in infarcted area (IA)], group 2 (AMI plus BMMNC transplantation into non-IA), group 3 (AMI plus BMMNC implantation into IA), and group 4 (sham control). One-week cultured BMMNCs (3.0 x 10(7)) were immediately transplanted following AMI induction. Angiographic studies over 6 months demonstrated that mitral regurgitation (MR) was lower in groups 3 and 4 than in groups 1 and 2 (all P < 0.01). Wall motion scores and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were higher in groups 3 and 4 than in groups 1 and 2 (all P < 0.05). Collateral circulation was higher in group 3 than in groups 1 and 2 ( P < 0.01). The wall thickness of the IA was higher, whereas the heart weight was lower in group 3 than in groups 1 and 2 (all P < 0.01).Immediate autologous BMMNC transplantation into IA is superior to saline-treated only or BMMNC transplantation into non-IA following AMI for reducing MR and improving LVEF.

Prognostic factors and outcomes in young chinese patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing primary coronary angioplasty.

We investigated the prognostic risk and the clinical outcome of young-adult patients with ST-segment elevation (ST-se) acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Between May 1999 and September 2007, primary PCI was performed in 1680 consecutive patients with AMI of onset < 12 hours (cardiogenic shock within 18 hours) at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Of these patients, 163 (9.7%) young-age patients (defined as male of < 45 years old and female of < 55 years old) were enrolled into this study. A comparable number (n = 175) of patients > or = 55 years old, who presented with AMI of < 12 hours duration having undergone primary PCI between November 2004 and May 2006, were retrospectively reviewed and enrolled as control subjects. The procedural success (defined as normal blood flow achieved in the infract-related artery) was similar between the young-age and old-age patients (P = 1.0). Additionally, the incidence of an advanced Killip score (defined as > or = score 3 upon presentation), 30-day and 6-month cumulative mortality did not differ between these two groups of patients (P > 0.1). However, the 30-day major adverse clinical outcome (MACO) (defined as New York Heart Association Functional Classification > or = 3 or 30-day mortality) was significantly lower in the young-age than in the old-age patients (P < 0.001). Further, multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that an advanced Killip score along with the peak level of CK-MB was independently predictive of 30-day MACO (P < 0.05) in young-age patients. In conclusion, the prognostic outcome is favorable in young-adult ST-se AMI undergoing primary PCI. Traditional risk factors remain effective for stratification of young-adult AMI patients into high- or low-risk subgroups.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guided fixation of an accidentally crushed coronary stent.

Stent deployment during coronary intervention has become more and more common recently. Inappropriate stent deployment may lead to unexpected high mortality and morbidity rates. A 62 year-old man with unstable angina presented with a bifurcation lesion after diagnostic coronary angiography. A drug-eluting stent was successfully deployed across the bifurcation lesion. However, after wire exchange and rewiring followed by high pressure balloon postdilatation, the stent was accidentally crushed under IVUS guidance. We used a looping wire technique and successfully redilated the crushed instent portion. This case suggests interventionists should not always change the wire before stent well deployment and should bear in mind the value of IVUS in managing such a complication.