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  3. Dissection Type A – Case 1

Dissection Type A – Case 1

Clinical Presentation
  • 56-year-old female who presented with chest pain (CCS Class IV) associated with dyspnea. Referred for staged PCI of OM1 and RI.
Past Medical History
  • HTN, HLD, DM, CAD s/p PCI, CVA, PE, Hypothyroidism, PUD, Asthma
  • LVEF 60%
Clinical Variables
  • Cardiac CTA: Severe 3-Vessel CAD.
  • Prior Cardiac Catheterization: OM1 80-90% stenosis, RI 70-80% stenosis. S/p PCI of the LPL.
Medications
  • Home Medications: Aspirin, Clopidogrel, Warfarin, Simvastatin, Metoprolol Tartrate, Lisinopril, Omeprazole, Insulin, Metformin, Albuterol, Fluticasone, Montelukast, Iron supplementation
  • Adjunct Pharmacotherapy: Clopidogrel, Ticagrelor, Bivalirudin
Pre-procedure EKG
Angiograms
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Left coronary artery angiography
  • 70-80% ramus intermedius (RI) lesion
  • 80-90% stenosis in the first obtuse marginal branch (OM1).
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Left coronary artery angiography

  • 70-80% ramus intermedius (RI) lesion
  • 80-90% stenosis in the first obtuse marginal branch (OM1).
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Deployment of a Promus Premier 3.0/16 mm stent at 14 atm in the RI.

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Angiography of the RI after stent placement.

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Buddy wire technique used to help traverse a wire across the tortuous LCx-OM1.

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Positioning of a Promus Premier 2.5/8 mm stent in OM1.

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Angiography of the LCx-OM1 after stent placement showing a guide catheter (VL3.5/6 Fr) induced, non-flow-limiting Type A dissection of the distal LM.

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Angiography after stent placement showing a guide catheter induced, non-flow-limiting Type A dissection of the distal LM.

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Positioning of a Promus Premier 4.0/8 mm stent in the LM.

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Angiography of the LM after stent placement showing inadequate treatment of the dissection flap.

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Positioning of an additional Promus Premier 4.0/8 mm stent with slight overlap with the distal stent edge of the previously placed stent in the LM.

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Deployment of a Promus Premier 4.0/8 mm stent in the LM.

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Deployment of a Promus Premier 4.0/8 mm stent in the LM.

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Post-dilatation of the stent placed in the LM with a Quantum Apex 5.0/8 mm balloon.

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Final angiography showing successful treatment of the LM dissection.

Post-procedure EKG

Case Overview

  • Underwent intervention of RI and OM1.
  • Procedure was complicated by a guide catheter (VL 3.5/6 Fr) induced, non-flow-limiting Type A dissection of the LM.
  • A stent was placed to treat the dissection; however, due to geographic miss another stent was required. This was followed by post dilatation of the stents, which successfully treated the dissection.
  • Troponin-I was 0 ng/mL and CK-MB peaked at 2.1 ng/mL.
  • Patient was discharged the next day without any sequelae.

Learning Objectives

  • What is the likely explanation or reason why the complication occurred?
    • Guide catheter-induced injury of an angiographically normal LM
  • How could the complication have been prevented?
    • Maintain guide catheter coaxiality, be cautious with manipulation of the guide catheter, and continuously monitor the position of the guide catheter throughout the procedure. This is extremely important when there is difficulty delivering equipment in tortuous and calcified lesions.
  • Is there an alternate strategy that could have been used to manage the complication?
    • Upfront use of a longer stent to cover the dissection flap.
  • What are the important learning points?
    • This is a type A dissection because there is a small linear streak with haziness, and no persistence of dye stasis.
    • Always anticipate possible complications, especially when you have difficulty delivering equipment. It is reasonable to keep an additional balloon and stent on standby should a complication arise so they are readily available to use without delay.
    • LM dissection is an emergency and a stent is almost always required to treat the dissection. LM dissection balloon tacking alone is insufficient because this will lead to a suboptimal result and a catastrophic event.
      • If there is no residual LM disease, recommend to proceed to direct stent placement.
      • If there is disease involving the LM, it is reasonable to first prep the lesion and tack the dissection with balloon inflation, and then place a stent.
    • Remember to appropriately size the stent diameter and length to assure it adequately covers the entry and exit point of the dissection. We recommend routine LM intravascular imaging with IVUS, to determine the optimal stent length, diameter, and landing zones. Intravascular imaging would have been particularly helpful in this case, in differentiating the etiology of a radiolucency seen during angiography.
    • In this case, the stent likely moved while deploying it due to patient’s respiration and/or rapid heart rate.
      • To better manage patient’s respiration you should ask the patient to hold their breath prior to stent deployment.
      • To better manage patient’s heart rate it is best to give IV adenosine 6 mg x one dose to control heart rate by inducing a transient, 6 to 8 second heart block prior to stent deployment. This is very important for placement of a stent involving an ostial lesion.
Educational Content

ABRUPT VESSEL CLOSURE (AVC)

  • AVC is the commonest major complication of PCI1
  • Incidence: 0.3% [used to be 3% in pre-stent era]2
  • Risk factors:3
    • Proximal vessel tortuosity
    • Diffuse lesion
    • Pre-existing thrombus
    • Degenerated vein graft
    • Extremely angulated lesion
    • Unstable angina
    • Multivessel disease
    • Female gender
    • Chronic renal failure
  • Common causes:3
    • Coronary dissection
    • Intracoronary thrombus formation
    • Native thrombus (or atheroma) embolization
    • Air injection
    • Coronary no-reflow
    • Coronary vasospasm

In the current DES era, commonest causes of AVC are stent edge dissection and acute stent thrombosis. However, the cause is indeterminate in almost 50% of patients.2

  • Classification of coronary perforation: As per the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute scheme, types A–F classification remains useful to describe the severity of luminal injury:4
Type AMinor radiolucency within the coronary lumen without dye persistence
Type BParallel tracks or double lumen separated by a radiolucent area during angiography without dye persistence
Type CExtraluminal, persisting extravasation of contrast
Type DSpiral luminal filling defects
Type EPersistent lumen defect with delayed antegrade flow
Type FFilling defect accompanied by total coronary occlusion
  • Prevention:
    • Maintain ACT > 300 throughout procedure
    • Make sure interface is free of air
    • Avoid high-pressure balloon dilatation or stenting
    • Avoid unnecessary post-dilatation and very long stents
    • Use distal protection devices in vein graft PCI
    • Be careful when retrieving delivery after stent implantation
    • Avoid geographical miss during stenting
    • Avoid aggressive post-dilatation at the stent edges
    • Be careful while positioning wire distal tip in tortuous vessel
  • Management: Abrupt closure results in acute ischemia manifesting as ECG changes, hypotension, bradycardia, chest pain and ventricular arrhythmias. The first step is to identify the underlying cause of AVC and then treat it accordingly.
    • Immediate priority should be to ensure intraluminal position of coronary guidewire and, if in doubt, an over-the-wire balloon catheter or Twin-Pass or other microcatheter should be advanced distal into the target vessel to allow minimal contrast media injection and confirm wire position.
    • If intraluminal guidewire position is confirmed, the most likely mechanism underlying AVC is dissection or intraluminal thrombus. Prompt balloon

inflation should be attempted to establish antegrade flow. If flow returns immediately after balloon inflation the likely cause of AVC is dissection and urgent stenting is useful for stabilizing.

    • If the distal flow after balloon inflation is sluggish (TIMI 0 or 1), the likely cause of AVC is distal thromboembolism. Using a Twin-Pass or microcatheter to administer distal vasodilators can help reestablish flow.
    • If initial contrast agent injection reveals guidewire position within a false lumen, careful exploration of the occluded segment using a second guidewire must be performed.
    • Aspiration thrombectomy and Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists may be helpful if acute closure is due to

thrombus. Control of anticoagulation is of paramount importance to avoid thrombotic occlusion of stented artery. ACT should be measured every ~30 minutes to keep ACT > 300 throughout the procedure and dose of anticoagulation is adjusted accordingly. If ACT is not reaching therapeutic levels consider resistance to anticoagulant and a possible reason for suspected thrombus formation causing AVC.

    • Intravenous fluids, vasopressors, inotropes and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) should be considered for unstable hemodynamics.
    • Emergency CABG should be considered if patient have persistent AVC depending on the location of the occlusion, patient’s clinical condition and assessment of risks and benefits.

Coronary slow flow/no-reflow phenomenon

Slow flow/No-reflow is an acute reduction in coronary flow (TIMI grade 0–1) in a patent vessel with absence of dissection, thrombus, spasm, or high-grade residual stenosis at the original target lesion.5 The underlying mechanism is complex and not completely understood, but some proposed mechanisms include distal embolization of calcium, plaque or thrombus and microvascular spasm caused by release of vasoconstrictor substances like serotonin and thromboxane, oxidative stress, and reperfusion injury.6 Clinical and lesion characteristics associated with higher incidence of no-reflow include left ventricular systolic serotonin and thromboxane, oxidative stress,and reperfusion injury.6 Clinical and lesion characteristics associated with higher incidence of no-reflow include left ventricular systolic dysfunction or hemodynamic instability, long calcified lesions, ostial lesions, chronic total occlusion of right coronary artery, thrombotic lesions, and vein graft lesions. Use of rotational atherectomy is also associated with a higher incidence of no-reflow.
Prevention
    • Direct stenting whenever feasible
    • Use of distal embolic protection devices for vein graft interventions.
    • Aspiration thrombectomy in STEMI cases if there is large thrombus burden
    • For cases involving rotational atherectomy, the use of rota flush, small

initial burr sizes, shorter rotablation runs, avoiding drops in rotations per minute (RPMs), and prevention of hypotension/bradycardia

Management: Coronary no re-flow must be immediately differentiated from AVC due to dissection as placement of stent in a vessel with no reflow may worsen the situation. Exclusion of dissection, thrombus, spasm, or high-grade residual stenosis at the original target lesion suggests no-reflow.
    • Stabilize hemodynamics with medications/intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP)
    • IC verapamil (100–200 μg)
    • IV adenosine (10–20 μg)
    • IC nitroprusside (50–200 μg)
    • Moderately forceful injection of blood or saline through the manifold
    • GPIIb/IIIa agents, IV cangrelor may also be helpful

Air Embolism

Intracoronary air embolism is a potentially lethal but rare complication. It could result in hypotension, hemodynamic collapse, cardiac arrest, and in rare cases death. Coronary air embolism is almost always iatrogenic. It occurs mostly when
    • Catheters are not adequately aspirated and flushed
    • During introduction or withdrawal of a guidewire, balloon catheter or other interventional devices
    • Rupture of a balloon during high inflation
    • During intracoronary medication injection

Diagnosis: Coronary air embolism is detected fluoroscopically as intracoronary filling defects during dye injection. It could also be seen as abrupt cutoff of a vessel secondary to occlusion of distal circulation with air column. Clinically small air embolism may be asymptomatic. Larger air embolism may present as chest pain, hypotension, ischemic EKG changes, or cardiac arrest.
Prevention
    • Do not engage the left main coronary when pulling out the guiding wire unless the patient has excessive aortic tortuosity or an enlarged aortic root.
      • Do not connect the manifold to the catheter with the flush running. This may lead to an air embolism if the catheter already has a column of air inside it.
      • Draw back at least 2 cc of blood into the injection syringe and make sure that the interface is free of air prior to injection.
      • Inject some dye into the ascending aorta prior to engaging left main.
      • Always ensure that all the catheters and tubings are aspirated, flushed and free of air.
      • Take adequate care when prepping stents or balloons and ensure that the syringe tip is facing downwards.
      • Always inject with the syringe tip facing downwards

      Treatment

        • Put patient on 100% oxygen.
        • Flush air free saline vigorously into the coronary arteries. Aspirate blood and air column via guide catheter and reinject saline forcefully back into coronary arteries.
        • Administer IV phenylephrine 200 μg for hypotension. Repeat, as needed every minute. If significant hypotension or hemodynamic collapse is present, push IV 1 cc epinephrine (1:10,000 dilution).
        • Intracoronary injection of vasodilators (adenosine, nitroprusside, verapamil) may be attempted.
        • Supportive measures should be instituted (IABP for persistent hypotention) and patient admitted to intensive coronary care unit for further monitoring

      Coronary Vasospasm

      Coronary vasospasm can be induced by PCI secondary to endothelial denudation and nitric oxide loss.
        • Some cases are catheter-induced which is caused by a contact of a catheter without balloon deployment. It is usually short-lived and is most prone to occur at the ostium of the right coronary artery (RCA). The left main is less susceptible to ostial spasm
        • Rotablator cases are more prone to vasospasm
      Diagnosis
        • Coronary vasospasm is detected by presence of EKG changes of ST segment elevation in association with angina, and then EKG completely returns to baseline upon resolution of symptoms.
        • The definitive diagnosis of coronary vasospasm is made angiographically by demonstration of reduction of luminal diameter in a discrete segment of the vessel, which is proven reversible by the administration of intracoronary vasodilators.
      Treatment
        • Initial step is intracoronary vasodilatation with IC calcium channel blockers and/or nitrates [nitroglycerin 100-300 mcg, verapamil 100 mcg/min, up to 1.0-1.5 mg, nicardipine 100-300 mcg, nitroprusside 100-300 mcg]
        • IV atropine can be useful if there is associated hypotension of bradycardia
        • If vasospasm persists, remove all hardware and leave the guide wire in place to maintain position. This may

      If vasospasm persists, remove all hardware and leave the guide wire in place to maintain position. This may minimize distal vessel spasm

        • Repeat prolonged PTCA for 2-5 minutes at low pressures (1-4 atmospheres)
        • Stenting should be reserved in cases if all the above measures have failed, as it may lead to propagation of spasm to a new location
        • Refractory vasospasm may be indicative of dissection, which is also an indication for stenting


      Abrupt Vessel Closure Summary

      • Dissection
        • Minor dissections - usually heal without clinical sequelae, no treatment required
        • Major dissections - repeated prolonged low-pressure balloon [distal vessel], stenting [Proximal/mid vessel segment or impaired flow due to dissection]
      • Thromboembolism
        • Twin-Pass or microcatheter to administer vasodilators distally
        • Check ACT to keep > 300. Consider starting IV Cangrelor or bailout GPIs
        • Balloon dilatation and/or thrombus aspiration in case of stent thrombosis
        • Stenting on case of thrombosis in in unstented vessel segment
      • No-reflow
        • Intracoronary Adenosine, Nitroprusside, Nicardipine, Verapamil, or GPI’s
        • A transit catheter or over-the-wire balloon should be used to deliver the vasodilators to the distal microvasculature
        • Insertion of IABP to improve flow
      • Air embolism
        • Start 100% oxygen
        • Flush air free saline vigorously into the coronary arteries. Aspirate blood via guide catheter and reinject forcefully back into coronaries
        • IV phenyl epinephrine or epinephrine as needed
        • Intracoronary injection of vasodilators
      • Vasospasm
        • Intracoronary Nitroglycerin, Adenosine, Nitroprusside, Nicardipine, or Verapamil
        • IV fluid bolus and/or atropine as needed
        • Remove all hardware and leave the guide wire in place to maintain position
        • Repeat prolonged PTCA for 2-5 minutes at low pressures (1-4 atmospheres)
      • Unknown etiology
        • Maintain wire position distally and pass a microcatheter distally to inject contrast
        • If flow distally, problem at site of vessel closure and needs to be investigated
        • If no flow distally, consider no reflow and give IC vasodilators


      References

      1. de Feyter P.J., de Jaegere P.P.T., Murphy E.S., Serruys P.W. (1992) Abrupt coronary artery occlusion during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Am Heart J 123:1633–1642.
      2. Francesco Giannini, Luciano Candilio, Satoru Mitomo, Neil Ruparelia, Alaide Chieffo, Luca Baldetti, Francesco Ponticelli, Azeem Latib, Antonio Colombo. Practical Approach to the Management of Complications During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv. 2018 Sep, 11 (18) 1797-1810.
      3. Klein L. (2005) Coronary complications of percutaneous coronary interventions: a practical approach to the management of abrupt closure. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 64:395–401.
      1. Huber MS, Mooney LF, Madison J, et al. Use of a morphologic classification to predict clinical outcome after dissection from coronary angioplasty. Am J Cardiol 1991;68:467–71.
      2. Rezkalla S.H., Kloner R.A. (2002) No-reflow phenomenon. Circulation 105:656–662.
      3. Piana R., Paik G., Moscucci M., et al. (1994) Incidence and treatment of “no-reflow” after percutaneous coronary intervention. Circulation 89:2514–8.
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