BACKGROUND: Despite improvements in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) devices and operator expertise, coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) poses a management dilemma for interventional cardiologists. Occasionally, in CTO lesions and in bifurcation lesions with severe curvature and stenosis, wires cannot be introduced into the main artery, although wiring into the side branch is possible. We herein report a case of stumpless ostial left anterior descending artery (LAD) CTO that was successfully treated with a novel strategy.

CASE REPORT: A 64-year-old female with symptoms of heart failure was admitted to our hospital. Coronary angiography showed CTO of the stumpless ostial LAD. The patient had invisible and continuous collaterals; therefore, we used the antegrade approach for CTO access. However, the wire could be guided only in the direction of the diagonal branch due to a severe angulation at the CTO exit site, despite successful wire crossing into the CTO lesion. We attempted intravascular ultrasound-guided direct wire entry technique to obtain additional information about the occlusion cap location and to assist in negotiating the wire into the true lumen. The guidewire (Conquest pro) could cross the lesion after several approaches and successfully advance the device over the wire through the occluded segment after the modified See-saw wiring technique was employed.

CONCLUSIONS: This method appears to be a promising novel strategy for difficult and complex lesions when performing CTO revascularization.

Keywords: case reports, Coronary Artery Disease, percutaneous coronary intervention, Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary, Coronary Angiography, coronary occlusion, Stents