Should we still perform angioplasty and stenting of an unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis in heart transplant patients? Two new cases anda review of the literature

Coronary balloon angioplasty with stent implantation has emerged as a possi ble alternative to bypass grafting or repeat transplantation in left main c oronary stenosis in heart transplant patients. We report 2 new cases of ste nt implantation for unprotected and isolated left main stenosis in heart tr ansplant patients. Despite an initially successful procedure, restenosis pr ompted the performance of bypass surgery in both patients. The relative adv antages and disadvantages of available techniques of revascularization are discussed in the context of the literature.