Clinical Outcomes Following Large Vessel Coronary Artery Perforation Treated with Covered Stent Implantation: Comparison between Polytetrafluoroethylene- and Polyurethane-Covered Stents (CRACK-II Registry)

Data on the clinical outcomes comparing synthetic fluorocarbon polymer polytetrafluoroethylene- (PTFE, GraftMaster) and polyurethane- (Papyrus) covered stents (CSs) to seal coronary artery perforations (CAPs) are limited. We aimed to evaluate 30-day and 1-year clinical outcomes after PCI complicated by CAP and treated with CS. We assessed 106 consecutive patients with successful CAP sealing (122 CSs): GraftMaster (51 patients, 57 CSs) or Papyrus CS (55 patients, 65 CSs). The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as the composite of cardiac death, target lesion revascularisation (TLR), and myocardial infarction (MI). The mean age of subjects was 69 ± 9.6 years (53.8% males). No significant differences were identified between the GraftMaster and Papyrus groups at the 30-day follow-up for MACE, cardiac death, MI and stent thrombosis (ST), while significantly lower rate of TLR and TVR (p = 0.02) were confirmed in the Papyrus group. At one year, differences remained similar between stents for MACE, a trend towards a lower rate of TLR (p = 0.07), MI (p = 0.08), and ST (p = 0.08), and higher for cardiac death (p = 0.07) was observed in the Papyrus group. This real-life registry of CAP illustrated that the use of Papyrus CS is associated with lower rates of TLR and TVR at 30-day follow-up in comparison to the GraftMaster CSs and no significant differences between both assessed CS at one year of follow-up.

Coil Embolization for Coronary Artery Perforation: A Retrospective Analysis of 110 Patients

Objective. Coil embolization (CE) for coronary artery perforation (CAP) has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of myocardial damage and impact on cardiac function after CE for CAP. Methods. A total of 110 consecutive patients treated with CE for CAP were retrospectively identified. The degree of myocardial damage and impact on cardiac function were evaluated. Results. Forty-nine (44.5%) cases involved chronic total occlusions. A guidewire was the cause of perforation in 97 (88.2%) patients. The success rate of CE was 98.2%. Almost all patients were prescribed either antiplatelet drugs or anticoagulant medication or both. Patients with perforation types III and IV were found to be prone to creatinine kinase (CK) elevation and epicardial main vessel perforation, thereby causing myocardial damage. No changes were noted in the ejection fraction (EF) in patients with type V distal perforation and collateral channel perforation, while patients with perforation of the epicardial main vessel may show impaired cardiac function afterward. Conclusions. CE is safe and effective for treating CAP, especially when collateral channels and distal vessels are involved. Meanwhile, efforts should be taken to prevent CAP in epicardial main vessels since it may be difficult to treat with CS and cause myocardial damage when bailed out with CE leading to vessel sacrifice. We found that it was not necessary to change the anticoagulant regimen after CE owing to its ability to achieve robust hemostasis.

Multiple coronary artery perforation following global pericardial tamponade in a patient with prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a case report

Background Patients who undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery rarely develop global pericardial tamponade due to pericardial adhesions. There are no reports of multiple coronary artery perforations following global pericardial tamponade during percutaneous coronary intervention in these patients. Case Summary A 52-year-old male who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery developed effort angina pectoris. Coronary angiography demonstrated chronic total occlusion of the first diagonal branch with severe stenosis of the second diagonal branch. Because his chest pain did not improve with medical therapy and ischemia of the left ventricular anterolateral wall was confirmed by myocardial scintigraphy, percutaneous coronary intervention was performed. The second diagonal branch stenosis was passed anterogradely by a 0.014-inch coronary angioplasty guidewire, while the first diagonal branch chronic total occlusion was recanalized by side-branch intravascular ultrasonography-guided parallel wiring. After stent deployment, coronary artery perforation at the distal end of the second diagonal branch was detected via contrast injection. We immediately performed intravascular hemostasis, leading to the disappearance of contrast. However, multiple bleeding sites were visualized by angiography at different sites of coronary arteries, including the circumflex artery. Although intravascular hemostasis is a standard procedure, we could not control rebleeding. Despite intensive care, the patient died. Discussion Increased tissue pressure due to bleeding possibly led to global pericardial tamponade with multiple coronary artery perforations. We report a rare case of a patient with multiple coronary artery perforations during coronary intervention.

Looped wire advancement—not always safe! Fat—not so useless! a case series

Background Coronary artery perforation (CAP), although rare, can often be a life-threatening complication of percutaneous coronary intervention. Looped wire tip or buckling of wire is conventionally considered safer due to reduced risk of migration into smaller branches and false lumen. Occasionally, buckling can indicate the entry of tip into dissection plane, or the advancement of looped wire can cause small vessel injury leading to perforation. Distal coronary perforation can be life threatening and coil, foam, and thrombin injection are some of the material widely used for sealing it. Case summary We hereby report three different cases illustrating the vessel injury that the looped wire can cause in the distal vasculature related to various mechanisms like high elastic recoil tension, dissection by the non-leading wire tip, or hard wire lacerating the fragile small branches. All these mechanisms lead to distal coronary perforation leading to cardiac tamponade. Each case also illustrate the novel technique of autologous fat globule embolization for the management of distal CAP. Discussion Distal coronary perforation is often due to guidewire-related vessel injury and is more common with hydrophilic wires. Looped wire tip can sometime indicate vessel injury and its advancement further down the coronary artery may result in serious vessel injury and perforation. Management of distal coronary perforation is challenging, and here we demonstrate the steps of using the readily available autologous fat globules by selectively injecting them into the small coronary artery to control the leak.

Stent-graft and double-guiding catheter technique to rescue iatrogenic coronary perforation

IntroductionCoronary artery perforation (CAP) is an infrequent, yet life-threatening complication of percutaneous coronary interventions, posing a major risk of cardiac tamponade and mortality.Material and methodsWe report on effective management of Ellis type III CAP with use of double-guiding catheter technique and stent-graft implantation.ResultsProlonged balloon inflation via the first guiding catheter allows for temporary closure of the bleeding site. At the same time, stent-graft is inserted via the second guiding catheter to seal the perforation. After rapid deflation of the balloon, the stent is immediately advanced and expanded.ConclusionsThe procedure minimises the time between deflation of the balloon and implantation of the stent-graft, allowing for successful bleeding cessation.