Rotational atherectomy for left anterior descending artery septal perforator stenosis

Stenosis in large septal perforators can result in significant clinical ischemia. The distribution of the septal arteries is as large as many more commonly treated branch vessels. The interventricular septal blood supply has been ignored as a target for revascularization due to its inaccessibility for surgical revascularization, and the elastic recoil associated with balloon angioplasty in this location. Rotational atherectomy is a new therapeutic option for revascularization in this previously difficult location. The septal perforator ostium is the most common site of lesions and is functionally a branch ostial stenosis. We describe four cases in which rotational atherectomy was performed in patients with reversible ischemia due to septal artery stenosis. The acute angiographic results were stable, without evidence for immediate recoil. By debulking, facilitated angioplasty can yield stable acute results in this location. The small size of most septal branches and their angulated origin make rotational atherectomy challenging, and cases must be selected carefully. This previously ignored lesion location can be considered for revascularization in patients with suitable lesion and vessel morphology. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 46:79–82, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.