Percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total coronary occlusion in patients at Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases.

Objective: To evaluate the successful revascularization in chronic total coronary occlusion lesions and to examine the relationship between lesion characteristics and procedural success and the frequency of in-hospital major adverse cardiac events after percutaneous coronary intervention in these patients.

Methods: All patients subjected to percutaneous coronary intervention from 2006 to 2008 were identified. These patients had unstable angina ranging from 2 weeks to more than 3 months duration, and majority was subjected to stent implantation.

Results: A total of 110 consecutive patients were studied. They had been treated for chronic total coronary occlusion lesions during this period. There were 76 males and 34 females. Drug eluting stents (DES) were used in 84 patients whereas 26 received Bare metal stents (BMS). Successful revascularization was achieved in 103 lesions (94%). Only 6% patients showed unsuccessful results due to failure of the wire to cross the lesion. There was no recorded death during the procedure.

Conclusion: Due to latest guide wire technology, procedural techniques and operator experience, our study showed more than 90% success in percutaneous revascularization of chronic total coronary occlusion lesions, with an excellent survival rate .