Percutaneous coronary angioplasty of radial artery conduits.
The higher long-term patency of internal mammary artery grafts has stimulated the search for alternative conduits in order to achieve a complete arterial myocardial revascularization. Percutaneous angioplasty is often the preferred strategy for the treatment of recurrent ischemia in patients who previously underwent bypass surgery, but there is limited experience in the treatment of arterial grafts. We describe two cases of percutaneous treatment of diseased radial artery (RA) grafts. In the first case, two disarticulated stents were deployed through an RA graft: half stent inside the anastomosis to the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, and half stent in the distal LAD artery. Diffuse spasm of the RA graft, resistant to ic nitrates, was successfully reversed after ic calcium antagonists. Absence of restenosis was confirmed two years later. In the second case, after simultaneous catheterization of both the left coronary artery and RA graft, two long stents were implanted in the LAD artery and a final "reversed" kissing-balloon dilation through the stent struts was performed; four months later the patient showed proximal occlusion of the LAD artery and the stenotic RA distal anastomosis was successfully dilated.
Zimarino
M
M
Servizio di Emodinamica, Ospedale R. Calai, Gualdo Tadino, PG.
Acciai
N
N
Cappelletti
L
L
Vitolla
G
G
Scarpignato
M
M
Calafiore
A M
AM
D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012008:Recurrence