EMERGENCY INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND TO LOCATE A STENT DURING PRIMARY ANGIOPLASTY

A 62-year-old man underwent primary PTCA with bail-out stent placement for an acute anterior wall myocardial infarction, After initial deplo yment of one half of a Palmaz-Schatz stent, the stent could not he vis ualized fluoroscopically. Emergency intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) sh owed the stent to be located proximal to the intended site of deployme nt. This finding helped determine balloon positioning for subsequent h igh-pressure inflations and also led to deployment of another half ste nt in the correct site. This case demonstrates that availability of an d familiarity with IVUS can benefit interventional cardiologists and t heir patients in unexpected circumstances. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.