Treatment of chronic total occlusions poses a specific set of challenges above and beyond those encountered in conventional percutaneous coronary intervention. Antegrade dissection and re-entry (ADR) is an established and safe technique with high success rates in experienced centers. CTO techniques frequently require greater-than-usual guide-catheter support and rapid-exchange technologies. Either can be achieved with separate guide extension and a trapping balloon; in this case series of guide-extension facilitated ADR, we highlight the technical advantages gleaned from the use of combined devices such as the TrapLiner guide-extension catheter (Teleflex).
Keywords: chronic total occlusion; percutaneous coronary intervention.