Stenting of acute left main coronary artery occlusion using balloon anchoring technique after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

We describe a case of acute left main stem occlusion complicating a transcatheter transfemoral aortic valve implantation. We treated this emergency using the balloon anchoring technique to insert and implant a stent in the left main stem. Transcatheter transfemoral or transapical aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a promising treatment in patients with severe, symptomatic surgically nonamenable patients. Registries have reported 3-month mortality rates between 10 and 20%. (1)  Most of the fatalities have been caused by the general poor patient condition because of advanced age or severe co-morbidities. However, TAVI has also been associated with new types of procedure-related complications such as valve embolization and cardiac perforation. Here, we describe a case of acute occlusion of the left coronary main stem following transfemoral TAVI. We treated this emergency using the balloon anchoring technique to insert and implant a stent in the left main stem. ©2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.