Successful rotational coronary ablation following failed balloon angioplasty

Rotational coronary ablation was utilized in two cases in which balloon angioplasty initially failed. In both cases, the balloon could not be fully expanded despite using high (18 Bar) inflation pressure. Rotational coronary ablation debulked the lesion, in each instance, and permitted successful balloon angioplasty to be accomplished without difficulty. These cases illustrate the point that complementary deployment of devices may not only improve the primary success of percutaneous coronary interventions, but also may widen its scope.