How to Do It: Transbrachial Impella Placement to Facilitate Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

A 64-year-old man with diffusely diseased iliofemoral vessels and an ejection fraction of 20% to 25% presented with a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and proximal left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCx) coronary artery disease, with a chronically occluded right coronary artery. The iliofemoral system was not suitable for Impella placement, and bilateral axillary arteries were heavily calcified. The proximal left brachial artery was chosen for placement of both an Impella CP (Abiomed, Danvers, MA, USA) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) sheath through a graft sewn to the brachial artery in this single-access technique. A 6 mm graft was sewn to the brachial artery, through which the Impella CP was placed. The Impella CP sheath was then used to introduce a 7F sheath for PCI. Successful PCI with drug-eluting stents was carried out to the LAD and LCx arteries, the Impella was weaned and removed, and the graft was stapled. The patient was discharged without any access or PCI complications. This report demonstrates the feasibility of the single-access Impella technique through a brachial artery cutdown approach.