AUTHOR=Goel Pravin K. , Sahu Ankit Kumar , Kasturi Sridhar , Roy Sanjeeb , Shah Nimit , Parikh Prakashvir , Chadha Davinder S. 

TITLE=Guiding Principles for the Clinical Use and Selection of Microcatheters in Complex Coronary Interventions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.724608

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2022.724608

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=Therapeutic approach, using microcatheters as a coronary interventional tool is growing among cardiologists across the country, for complex coronary interventions like bifurcation lesions, ostial location, tortuous anatomy, angled takeoffs, coronary calcification, and chronic total occlusion PCI. During treatment of such complex lesions, microcatheters are an essential part of the tool kit with both single lumen and dual lumen microcatheters having their specific niche areas. Microcatheter selection includes a detailed understanding of the microcatheter specification, lesion anatomy, lesion location, vessel tortuosity and trajectory, and crossing techniques. Selecting appropriate crossing techniques with different microcatheters increases success rates of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), reduces procedure time, lowers radiation, and contrast use. However, microcatheter utility and the technicalities of their use is not yet fully realized by many operators and their true scope has not been fully explored. This article discusses and summarizes the thoughts and key opinions of leaders in this field.