MAGNUM MEIER WIRES WITH CRAG FX WIRE CATHETER FOR TOTAL OCCLUSIVE CORONARY-ARTERIES

Magnum Meier wire was used with Crag Fx wire catheter instead of Magnu m balloon catheter to facilitate wire crossing through total occlusion by improving flexibility of the system without losing wire pushabilit y, Of 372 coronary angioplasty procedures performed between January 19 94 and April 1995, there were 12 subacute occlusions with an interval of 3 wk or less and 30 chronic occlusions with an interval of >3 wk. R egular over-the-wire-type balloon catheters failed to dilate four suba cute occlusions and nine chronic total occlusions. Magnum Meier wire w ith Crag Fx wire catheter was tried for one subacute occlusion and fou r chronic occlusions that were undilatable with a regular balloon syst em and successfully dilated the subacute occlusion and three of the ch ronic occlusions. The lesions successfully dilated by this new approac h were either long or tandem lesions in vessels that were excessively tortuous or showed an acute angle at the orifice. Thus the Magnum Meie r wire with Crag Fx wire catheter can be a useful tool for dilating to tally occluded lesions in tortuous coronary arteries. (C) 1997 Wiley-L iss, Inc.