Use of the twin-pass catheter for wiring a jailed side branch.

Wiring through stent struts into a jailed side branch can be challenging. We describe a case of double-barrel left main coronary artery stenting into the first obtuse marginal branch that resulted in significant ostial circumflex coronary artery stenosis. We were unable to wire the jailed large distal circumflex artery.

Use of the venture wire control catheter for the treatment of coronary artery chronic total occlusions.

Background: The Venture catheter (St Jude, Minneapolis, MN) has a deflectable tip for facilitating wire steering and a stiff body. Both properties can be useful in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) of coronary chronic total occlusions (CTOs).

Methods: We reviewed 26 consecutive patients in whom the Venture catheter was utilized during coronary CTO PCI at our institution between May 2008 and September 2009.