Rotational atherectomy in arteries with extreme calcification or previous failed dilation: technical aspects and late outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention

Abstract Background Rotational atherectomy with new ablative strategies have been proposed for the treatment of extremely calcified lesions prior to stent implantation. Nevertheless, few data are available about the adoption of these new strategies in contemporary practice and about late outcomes of patients undergoing this therapy. Methods From July 2012 to November 2014, a retrospective single center registry was conducted, including all patients undergoing rotational atherectomy as part of the treatment of coronary arteries with heavy calcification or previous failed dilation. We evaluated technical aspects of atherectomy and late outcomes of patients for the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as death, Q-wave myocardial infarction or repeat target vessel revascularization. Results Twenty-nine patients with a mean age of 69.5 ± 7.6 years, underwent atherectomy. The average burr-to-artery ratio was 0.54 ± 0.07, the initial rotational speed was 161.000 ± 13.928 and the rate of cutting balloon utilization after atherectomy was 45.1%. Angiographic success was achieved in all procedures. The median follow-up time was 13.2 months (IQ: 4.0-17.4) and there were three events: 1 death of non- cardiac cause and 2 new target vessel revascularizations. The mean MACE-free survival time was 29.7 ± 2.1 months. Conclusions Contemporary rotational atherectomy incorporates less aggressive strategies of ablation with high rates of acute success and low occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events during late follow-up.