Bailout coronary stenting with 6F guiding catheters for failed balloon angioplasty

Between July 1992 and February 1994, we attempted bailout Palmaz-Schatz stent implantation through a 6F guiding catheter after 52 failed coronary balloon angioplasty procedures to reverse (14 [27%] cases) or prevent (38 [73%] cases) abrupt vessel closure. The stents or half-stents were manually crimped onto a monorail balloon catheter for delivery. Thirty-nine (75%) procedures involved a single stent, and 13 (25%) involved two or three stents. Technical success was achieved in 50 (96%) procedures, and clinical success without major complications was obtained in 45 (87%) cases. Target vessel occlusion was documented angiographically or suggested clinically in 2 (4%) cases. Two (4%) patients underwent semielective bypass surgery, and in 4 (8%) patients a non-Q-wave and in 1 (2%) a Q-wave myocardial infarction developed. There were no deaths. Major bleeding occurred in 2 patients: 1 had an important groin hematoma that was treated with local surgery followed by coronary bypass surgery, and one had macroscopic hematuria that required interruption of anticoagulation therapy on day 4. Three (6%) femoral pseudoaneurysms were diagnosed by ultrasound and could be obliterated by external compression alone. Bailout coronary stent implantation through 6F guiding catheters after failed balloon angioplasty is technically reliable, safe, and cost-efficient. As a consequence, use of 6F guiding catheters is a good option for a large majority of routine balloon angioplasty procedures.