Technical considerations when intervening with coronary device catheters in the vicinity of previously deployed stents.

As stent use increases, interventional cardiologists are increasingly faced with patients that require procedures in the vicinity of previously deployed stents. We present two cases of side-branch interventions in the vicinity of previously deployed stents where devices were trapped by the stent. In each case, traction on the device resulted in stent dislodgment. The stents were successfully extracted and replaced without complications.