Stent loss during chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention: Optical coherence tomography-guided...

Stent loss during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a rare event, which however has been associated with devastating consequences. Adequate management of this complication requires an exact understanding of the location of the lost stent and underlying mechanisms. Our case reports on a 55-year-old man who underwent PCI to a chronic total occlusion of the left anterior descending artery, complicated by stent loss. Successful management involved crushing and trapping of the stent behind a newly implanted stent. The use of optical coherence tomography proved invaluable, clarifying the relationship of the lost stent with side branches, allowing choosing a larger balloon for stent crushing, and suggesting a possible cause for stent loss. Finally, we provide a review on recent literature on stent loss during PCI and offer an algorithm to guide its management.