Chronic total occlusions: patient selection and overview of advanced techniques

Percutaneous treatment of coronary chronic total occlusions (CTOs) remains challenging, mainly due to difficulty in crossing the lesion. However tremendous progress has been achieved recently with expanded use of the retrograde approach and advanced dissection re-entry techniques. The development of the "hybrid" approach from North American operators has provided practical recommendations on how to select initial and subsequent CTO crossing strategies. Moreover, additional information has emerged on the frequency of CTOs among patients undergoing cardiac catheterization and on the adverse prognostic impact of CTOs on clinical outcomes of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy who have implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Overall, CTO interventions remain a dynamic area with multiple novel technical and clinical developments.