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Updated: Sep 18, 2025

Simulator Training for Endovascular Neurosurgery
Published on: May 6, 2020
Effect of Operator Experience Performing Rotational Atherectomy on Clinical Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary
Woochan Kwon1, Ki Hong Choi2, Young Bin Song2
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Background And Objectives:
Rotational atherectomy (RA) is a technique used to ablate calcified plaques. There is speculation that operators' experience with RA could play a role in the outcomes.
Methods:
From December 2015 to April 2020, patients with calcified coronary lesions requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with RA were enrolled in a prospective, multicenter, observational registry. The patients were divided into two groups based on the number of RAs performed by their operator in the past. A propensity score matching was done for a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization at 1 year.
Results:
A total of 497 patients were enrolled in the study. The calculated cutoff number of RA-PCI between the two groups was 82 cases. The more experienced group underwent PCI with less fluoroscopy time (less experienced vs. more experienced, 38.8 vs. 30.0 minutes, p<0.001), and more frequent intravascular imaging (54.6% vs. 69.0%, p=0.012). The primary outcome did not differ significantly between the groups (5.2% vs. 7.3%, hazard ratio, 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57-3.74; p=0.433). No significant difference in the incidence of complications was observed between the groups (5.5% vs. 7.0%, odds ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, 0.57-3.04; p=0.526). Similar results were observed in the propensity-score matched population.
Conclusions:
In PCI using RA for calcified lesions, the composite outcome of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization at 1 year was not significantly different according to RA experience among operators.

