title: Acute outcome with the flexicut directional coronary atherectomy catheter for the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis.
abstract: In-stent restenosis (ISR) is a growing problem that is without a practical, efficacious treatment strategy. The purpose of this study was to determine the acute outcome of 17 patients with coronary ISR who were treated with the new 8 French (Fr), guide-catheter compatible Flexicut directional atherectomy catheter (Guidant Corporation, Santa Clara, California). Failure to deliver the device occurred in 2/17 ISR lesions. The remaining 15 ISR lesions were successfully debulked (e.g., minimum lumen diameter pre-procedure: 0.30 +/- 0.16 mm; post-atherectomy plus adjuvant therapy: 2.16 +/- 0.57 mm). Of note, the reference vessel diameter was only 2.62 +/- 0.63 mm. In 11/15 tissue specimens, macroscopic or microscopic particles consistent with stent material were found. There was an absence of acute closure or elevations of creatinine phosphokinase levels. Apart from 1 patient who developed recurrent restenosis, all other patients demonstrated either clinical improvement or lack of restenosis during early clinical follow-up (mean, 5 months). We conclude that use of the Flexicut catheter provides satisfactory debulking and early clinical outcomes in patients with ISR. Long-term follow-up of these and additional patients will be helpful in determining the efficacy of the Flexicut atherectomy catheter for the treatment of ISR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. eobrien@ottawaheart.ca
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Glover
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Labinaz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017225:Atherectomy, Coronary / Q000295:instrumentation*; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome