A Case of Unusual Guidewire Tip Entrapment During Side Branch Recrossing: Successful Retrieval With the Proximal...

Coronary guidewire entrapment is a rare but serious complication that can occur during percutaneous coronary intervention. We report an unusual case of guidewire tip entrapment that occurred during an attempt to recross into a side branch after stent implantation. In this case, only the coil tip remained trapped after repeated microcatheter-assisted retrieval attempts, and it was unexpectedly dislodged into the aorta during reproximal optimal technique procedures. Based on this experience, we propose the proximal optimal technique as a potential bailout strategy when conventional approaches fail in cases of guidewire tip entrapment.