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Rescuing an entrapped guidewire using a Tornus catheter
Yun-Hyeong Cho1, Sungha Park, Jung-Sun Kim
1Division of Cardiology, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea.
Insights
Guidewire entrapment during percutaneous coronary intervention in severe calcified lesions is a rare but dangerous complication. A Tornus catheter successfully retrieved an entrapped guidewire, preventing potential surgical intervention.
Area of Science:
- Interventional Cardiology
- Cardiovascular Medicine
Background:
- Guidewire entrapment is a rare but serious complication during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), particularly in severely calcified coronary lesions.
- This complication can lead to life-threatening events such as myocardial ischemia, infarction, or lethal arrhythmias due to intracoronary thrombosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a case where the Tornus catheter was successfully used to retrieve an entrapped guidewire in a patient with severe calcified coronary disease.
- To highlight the utility of the Tornus catheter in managing complex PCI complications.
Main Methods:
- A case presentation of a patient undergoing PCI for severe calcified coronary disease.
- The use of a Tornus catheter for guidewire retrieval after conventional methods failed.
Main Results:
- Successful retrieval of the entrapped guidewire using the Tornus catheter.
- Avoidance of urgent surgical referral and its associated risks.
Conclusions:
- The Tornus catheter is an effective device for managing guidewire entrapment in complex coronary lesions.
- Early consideration of specialized devices like the Tornus catheter can improve outcomes in challenging PCI cases.
Abstract:
Entrapment of a guidewire is a rare event, but it could happen especially in severe calcified stenotic lesion. This complication is life-threatening because it can lead to myocardial ischemia, infarction, or lethal arrhythmia due to intracoronary thrombosis. In the event of failed retrieval and persistent signs of ischemia, patients should be urgently referred to surgery. During percutaneous coronary intervention, the Tornus catheter has been applied to patients with severe coronary artery disease when balloon catheter or microcatheter cannot be crossed across the lesion after successful wire crossing. This is a case of a patient that a Tornus catheter rescued an entrapped guidewire in severe calcified coronary disease.
