"RotaTripsy": Combination of Rotational Atherectomy and Intravascular Lithotripsy in Heavily Calcified Coronary Lesions: A Case Series

Abstract

Heavily calcified coronary lesions increase the complexity of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and represent a challenge for interventional cardiologists. They are an important cause of stent underexpansion and poor clinical outcome. Nowadays, there are different dedicated devices which enhance the chances of success. Rotational atherectomy is the first-line modality which permits to cross balloons or stents through severe calcified lesions. However, when circumferential deep calcium plaques exist may not be enough to achieve adequate expansion of these devices. In these cases, the complementary use of intracoronary lithotripsy ("RotaTripsy") can be an effective approach that further modifies the calcified plaque and enables optimal stent implantation. We present the first case series undergoing PCI using "RotaTripsy" technique.

Keywords: Calcified coronary lesions; Debulking device; Intracoronary imaging; Intravascular lithotripsy; Plaque modification; Rotational atherectomy.