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A 65-year-old man with a restenotic lesion of the mid LAD was scheduled for Wiktor stent placement. The IVUS revealed circumferential severe calcification. Two conventional, non-compliant angioplasty balloons inflated to high pressures failed to achieved sufficient dilatation and both ruptured. At this point, we selected high pressure inflation of the Cutting Balloon. The Cutting Balloon achieved adequate dilation for stenting and proved to be useful in predilating a circumferential, heavily calcified lesion.

We examined the effectiveness of Palmaz-Schatz (P-S) stent and directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) in ostial lesions of left anterior descending arteries (LAD). The P-S stent was implanted in 11 cases at LAD ostial lesions, and DCA was performed in 13 cases. Percent stenosis and vessel diameter at the target site and the ostium of the circumflex coronary artery (LCX) were measured before and after the procedure. The initial success rate was 100% in both groups. No major complication occurred. LAD ostial lesions were improved from 81.3+/-3.4% to -8.1+/-5.7% by P-S stent and from 82.8+/-2.6% to -2.7+/-3.9% by DCA. LCX ostial vessel diameter was not changed by DCA (from 3.0+/-0.2 mm to 3.1+/-0.3 mm); however, it was significantly decreased by P-S stent (from 2.9+/-0.2 mm to 2.6+/-0.2 mm, P < 0.01). When the angle of LAD and LCX was < or = 80 degrees from the view of RAO 30 degrees and Caudal 30 degrees, the LCX ostium was significantly narrowed by stenting at LAD ostium (P < 0.01). These findings indicate that both the P-S stent and DCA are effective and safe therapies for LAD ostial lesions in cases with LAD-LCX angle > 80 degrees. In cases with LAD-LCX angle < or = 80 degrees, however, DCA is a favored therapy rather than P-S stenting to avoid narrowing of the LCX ostium.