Retrieval of a detached partially expanded stent using the SpideRX and EnSnare devices--a first report

Stent detachment and loss from the balloon represents a dreaded complication of coronary angioplasty. Previously described techniques of stent retrieval include the distal small balloon technique, the wire braiding technique, the snare technique, the stent crush technique4 and a single report of retrieval with the PercuSurge distal embolic protection device. Partially expanded stents are potentially much more difficult to retrieve from the coronary circulation given their larger profile. We describe a new method of stent retrieval with the use of the SpideRX distal protection basket device to retrieve a partially expanded drug-eluting stent to the iliac artery and subsequent retrieval and externalization of this expanded stent and SpideRX unit in succession with an EnSnare device via a contralateral Balkin sheath.