ACTIVE GUIDEWIRE TECHNIQUE - USING GUIDEWIRE BIAS TO ASSIST IN ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY

This case report illustrates the use of guidewire bias in rotational a therectomy to direct the cutting vector of the burr. The lesions in th e left main coronary artery were eccentric and predominately on the su perior surface of the vessel. Minimal ablation was achieved when the g uidewire was in the circumflex artery (inferior trajectory) but was ef fectively ablated when the guidewire was placed in the diagonal (super ior trajectory). The active guidewire technique is an important aspect of rotational atherectomy and allows ''surgical'' or ''directional'' rotational atherectomy of eccentric lesions.