Revascularization of coronary chronic total occlusions with subintimal tracking and reentry followed by deferred stenting: Experience from a high‐volume referral center

Objectives To determine whether a variation of an abandoned antegrade percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) technique, termed subintimal tracking and reentry (STAR), could be a safe and effective strategy to contend with complex coronary chronic total occlusions (CTO) when other strategies fail. Background Complex CTOs require advanced techniques such as the retrograde approach, which is associated with higher complication rates than antegrade strategies. Methods The medical records of 32 consecutive patients who underwent deferred stenting following STAR (DSS) between January 2015 and May 2017 at a high‐volume referral center were retrospectively reviewed. The primary endpoint was technical success at the time of a second procedure following STAR‐based balloon angioplasty, defined as successful stenting or the presence of Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction Study Group (TIMI) 3 flow with <50% residual stenosis if the vessel caliber was inappropriate for stenting. Results Of 781 CTO PCI procedures, STAR was performed in 45 (5.8%) and DSS in 32 (4.1%), constituting the analysis cohort. The median Japanese‐CTO score was 2.5 [interquartile range (IQR) 1.0–3.0]. Median inter‐procedure time was 2.4 months [1.7–3.3 months]. Technical success was achieved in 28 (88%) patients; 23 (72%) patients were treated with stents and 5 (16%) with balloon angioplasty alone. Combined complications included one clinical perforation, one MI, and one stent thrombosis. Conclusions Deferred stenting after subintimal plaque modification via the STAR technique is a safe and effective strategy to contend with complex CTO lesions when other techniques are prohibitively high risk or have failed.