A NEW ADJUSTABLE TEMPORARY STENT CATHETER FOR MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE DISSECTION DURING BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY

Acute coronary dissection remains a limitation of percutaneous translu minal coronary angioplasty, For the management of acute coronary disse ction, a new adjustable temporary stent catheter that can be positione d to the lesion, deployed, and retrieved at a later stage was develope d, This catheter has at its distal end a spiral stent that can be redu ced and expanded in a controlled fashion by external manipulations, Th e adjustable temporary stent catheter was applied in three clinical ca ses with acute coronary dissection during balloon angioplasty. In all cases, the adjustable temporary stent catheter restored blood flow whe n it was expanded to the lesion for 60 min and this restoration was ma intained after device removal. It is envisioned that this temporary st ent device may prove a useful means for the treatment of acute coronar y dissection during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. (C ) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.