Modified leopard-crawl technique using intravascular lithotripsy balloon in calcified coronary lesions.
Shoichi KuramitsuUmihiko KanekoNobuki MatsunaYoshifumi KashimaTsutomu FujitaPublished in: Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions : official journal of the Society for Cardiac Angiography & Interventions (2023)
Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) has emerged as a novel therapy for the treatment of coronary calcification. Numerous studies have reported the safety and efficacy of IVL in calcified coronary lesions, while IVL balloon-uncrossable calcified coronary lesions are sometimes encountered in clinical practice. This case report represents a novel technique called "modified leopard-crawl" to advance the IVL balloon antegradely by creating significant calcium cracking forward when the enhanced stent visualization system reveals that the distal emitter seems adjacent to calcification. This technique might be a valuable alternative when conventional procedures fail and has the potential to enhance the clinical applicability of IVL in daily practice.