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Intravascular lithotripsy as a rescue option in the treatment of stent underexpansion: A case report

Kamil Banasik, Grzegorz Sobieszek

The treatment of calcified atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries is one of the greatest challenges of contemporary invasive cardiology. Insufficient preparation of the lesion before stent implantation may cause complications. The introduction of new tools, such as intravascular lithotripsy, is a valuable method of treatment not only at the stage of atherosclerotic plaque preparation, but also a rescue option in the case of non-expansion of a stent implanted in a calcified, suboptimally prepared lesion. This paper presents the cases of two patients treated with intravascular lithotripsy in the Department of Cardiology of the 1st Military Clinical Hospital in Lublin. In both cases, the reason for the intervention was insufficient expansion of previously implanted stents. Thanks to the use of ultrasound wave energy, it was possible to treat this complication, which was confirmed in endovascular imaging studies. In view of the effectiveness and widespread use of lithotripsy in such situations, the need to extend the indications for the use of this valuable tool seems obvious.