RESCUE AVE STENT PLACEMENT FOR LEFT ANTERIOR DESCENDING CORONARY-ARTERY OCCLUSION DURING DIAGNOSTIC ANGIOGRAPHY

In a 65-year-old male with coronary artery disease a proximal occlusio n of the left anterior descending coronary artery occurred during diag nostic coronary angiography. The most likely cause was an occlusive di ssection. This resulted in acute myocardial ischemia and immediate car diogenic shock. The decision was made to proceed to emergency percutan eous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). After balloon dilatatio n, a 3.5 mm AVE stent was deployed successfully at the site of the les ion. This resulted in a satisfactory angiographic result and an immedi ate improvement of the clinical picture. We conclude that placement of an AVE stent can provide a means for restoring flow in case of acute occlusive dissection during coronary angiography.