Ostial Lesions in Main Coronary Arteries Treated with the Szabo Technique

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in ostial lesions is one of the major challenges in contemporary interventional cardiology. Despite the technological advances, ostial lesions still present a higher rate of immediate and late adverse events compared with non-ostial lesions. The objective of this study was to evaluate coronary ostial lesions treated with the Szabo technique. Methods: Ten patients treated by PCI using the Szabo technique to treat ostial lesions in main coronary arteries between October and November, 2011, were included. Aorto-ostial lesions were excluded. Results: Of the ten treated patients, seven were males, with ages ranging from 42 to 75 years, and 60% had acute coronary syndromes without ST-segment elevation. The circumflex artery was treated in six patients, and a 7 F catheter was used in eight patients. In three patients, both guidewires twisted during the advancement of the stent to the lesion, which was solved by partially retrieving and repositioning the standard target-vessel wire. Procedural success was observed in 90% of the cases. There were no in-hospital deaths, (re) infarctions or emergency revascularisations. Conclusions: In this study, the Szabo technique successfully treated ostial lesions in main coronary arteries and provided adequate positioning of the stent in most cases.