Intravascular Ultrasound Insights Into Perforation After Coronary Atherectomy

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been strong evidence to support the regular use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging to optimize the results of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This holds particularly true in more complex cases, such as calcific lesions, whereby angiographic evaluation is often insufficient to determine whether a vessel has been adequately prepared or to perform reference vessel sizing. Severe calcific lesions are often treated with coronary atherectomy to debulk the calcific plaque and allow for adequate predilation of the lesion before stenting. As we have become more familiar with the use of IVUS for stent optimization, we postulated whether certain vessel characteristics seen on IVUS could help to anticipate procedural complications. We provide a descriptive analysis, including IVUS findings, of 10 patients who underwent PCI complicated by coronary perforation following coronary atherectomy. Our findings generate the hypothesis that independent mobility of calcium identified on IVUS in patients treated with coronary atherectomy may be a warning sign for impending perforation. Further studies are needed to validate this hypothesis and to potentially identify other IVUS findings that could be associated with increased risk of procedural complications.