PERCUTANEOUS TRANSRADIAL CORONARY PALMAZ-SCHATZ STENT IMPLANTATION, GUIDED BY INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) allows accurate assessment of stent stent deployment, its use being confined to the use of 8 French (F) guiding catheters. We evaluated the feasibility of combining transradial artery Palmaz-Schatz stent implantation through 6F guiding catheters with IVUS for assessment of stent diameter after delivery at moderate inflation pressures (10-12 atmospheres [atm]) with compliant balloons and after high pressure dilatations with balloons of intermediate compliance. In 8 consecutive patients, 12 stents were delivered with Scimed(R) Express(TM) balloon catheters at 10-12 atm followed by IVUS (EndoSonics(R) CathScanner; Visions(R) FX 3.5F 20 MHz transducer). An ultrasound study was repeated after high pressure dilatations (16-20 atm) with Schneider(R) Magical Speedy(TM) balloon catheters. The balloon diameters were derived from manufacturer provided specifications. In all patients the transducer could easily be advanced through the guiding catheters. Reference diameter of the stented segment was 3.7 +/- 0.5 mm (2.7-4.5) and the diameter of Scimed(R) Express(TM) balloons during inflation was 4.0 +/- 0.3 mm (3.6-4.7). Stent diameter was 3.0 +/- 0.1 mm (2.8-3.2) (P < 0.001 compared to the reference and the balloon diameter). The diameter of the Schneider(R) Magical Speedy(TM) balloons at secondary dilatations with 16 +/- 3 atm (14-20) was 4.1 +/- 0.4 mm (3.3-4.5) (P = 0.50 compared to the initial balloon diameter). Final stent diameter was 3.3 +/- 0.4 mm (2.9-4.1) (P = 0.02 compared to the initial stent diameter). All stents were symmetrically deployed and well apposed. No damage to vessel or stents was detected after passage of the transducer. Thus ultrasound guided stenting via 6F guiding catheters is feasible, and high pressure dilatations with balloons of intermediate compliance results in better stent expansion than after 10-12 atm inflations with compliant balloon catheters. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.