Dislodged stent after stent reverse controlled antegrade and retrograde subintimal tracking (CART) — Is stent reverse CART a necessary tool or an unnecessary evil?

Abstract

We report a case of stent reverse controlled antegrade and retrograde subintimal tracking (CART) in left anterior descending artery (LAD) chronic total occlusion. Reverse CART is the method used to make a connection between the retrograde wire and the antegrade true lumen by using a balloon to dilate the antegrade space and pushing the retrograde wire into this space. We successfully crossed the septal channel from right coronary to the LAD, and proceeded to reverse CART, which was unsuccessful. After demonstrating that both the retrograde and antegrade wires were in the same subintimal space by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), we placed the distal stent edge at the connection point of the wires and deployed the stent. We could easily wire the stent lumen with the retrograde conquest 9g wire. Afterwards we tried to push the retrograde corsair microcatheter through the CTO and into the antegrade guiding, but unfortunately, the retrograde corsair could not pass into the antegrade guiding and was stuck just outside the antegrade guiding ostium. At this point IVUS showed that the stent had been dislodged from the LAD and pushed into the aorta just outside the left main by the retrograde corsair because the retrograde wire passed into the stent lumen through a distal side strut opening and not through the true distal end of the stent. Due to unstable hemodynamics we had to remove the retrograde system and this led to stent embolism. The case illustrates stent dislodgement after stent reverse CART and stresses the importance of using IVUS to check fully the retrograde wire path before pushing the corsair. We discuss the role of stent reverse CART in the contemporary reverse CART era and conclude that it should be relegated to the very last resort after trying transit balloon technique. We conclude that stent reverse CART is mostly an unnecessary evil.<Learning objective: The case illustrates the dangers of stent reverse controlled antegrade and retrograde subintimal tracking (CART) and discusses the alternative options to stent reverse CART, as well as how to perform stent reverse CART safely with the use of intravascular ultrasound both before stenting and after stenting to ensure correct wire passage through the stent.>