Difficult stent delivery: Use of an aspiration catheter as a “sheath”

This is a report of a case in which stent delivery to the lesion location proved difficult because of severely calcified and tortuous proximal vasculature. Efforts to deliver a stent using a buddy wire, anchoring technique and five-in-seven guiding system were unsuccessful, whereas an aspiration catheter enabled stent delivery to the target lesion. This technique offers a potential alternative for cases in which some stent delivery methods are problematic. In addition, this technique may also prevent potential injury to drug-eluting polymer during stent delivery. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.