ROTATIONAL ATHERECTOMY FOR BIFURCATION LESIONS OF THE CORONARY CIRCULATION - TECHNIQUE AND INITIAL EXPERIENCE

Bifurcation lesions of the coronary circulation are difficult to treat with standard balloon technology and are associated with relatively l ow procedural success rates and high complication rates. We hypothesiz ed that effective debulking of bifurcation lesions with rotational ath erectomy would improve observed results. Fifteen patients underwent ro tational atherectomy of such lesions. Both limbs of the bifurcation we re rotablated in seven patients and one limb in eight; seven patients also underwent stent deployment. Successful angiographic results were obtained in all limbs (<30% residual stenoses). One patient had a non- Q-wave myocardial infarction. No other significant complications occur red. We conclude that rotablation of bifurcation coronary stenoses is feasible, safe, and associated with a high likelihood of angiographic success. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.