title: The use of rotational atherectomy and drug-eluting stents in the treatment of heavily calcified coronary lesions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The treatment of calcified coronary artery lesions is a challenge for percutaneous angioplasty. Rotational atherectomy is an established technique for the effective modification of these lesions prior to conventional angioplasty and stent implantation. Drug-eluting stents (DES) have shown encouraging results in complex lesions and high-risk patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study investigated the immediate and long-term prognosis after treatment with rotational atherectomy (RotA) and DES implantation in 184 patients with calcified coronary artery lesions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During follow up (mean 49 months), 7 patients died (1 from a non-cardiac cause) and the incidence of major adverse cardiac events was 14.85%. Only 4.15% of patients underwent a new angioplasty procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of RotA and DES in calcified coronary artery lesions has a very good angiographic result and a satisfactory clinical outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, St. Luke's Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. pdardas@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dardas
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mezilis
authors.forename: Vlasis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ninios
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsikaderis
authors.forename: Efstratios K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Theofilogiannakos
authors.forename: Stelios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lampropoulos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017225:Atherectomy, Coronary; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000628:therapy*