title: Report of an undeployed stent causing the unraveling of a coronary artery guidewire being used for sidebranch protection.
abstract: We report a case of a 70-year-old male who was undergoing elective angioplasty of the left anterior descending coronary artery. During the procedure, a coronary guidewire became unraveled after positioning an undeployed stent; we describe its successful retrieval by removal of the undeployed stent. Although sidebranch protection and placement of a stent with the guidewire left in place is commonly performed without complication, it should be realized that this practice is not without hazard because of the unusual, but serious consequences that could ensue if the entrapped wire were to unravel.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Section, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Suite 1035, 1653 West Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Thew
authors.forename: Lloyd W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000295:instrumentation; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000628:therapy; D020878:Device Removal; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D015607:Stents / Q000009:adverse effects*