Radial artery perforation after coronary intervention: is there a role for covered coronary stent?

We report a case of right radial artery perforation observed after successful stenting of left anterior descending artery through right radial access. This was noticed immediately after completion of the procedure, when the patient described right forearm pain and we noticed swelling of the right forearm. She was treated by a prolonged guiding catheter positioning proximal to the perforated segment, external compression by sphygmomanometer cuff followed by prolonged balloon inflation across the perforation. All these measures failed to stop the bleeding. Complete reconstruction of the perforation was achieved by PTFE covered coronary stent. To our knowledge, this is the first case to be managed utilizing this approach. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.