IVUS in bifurcation stenting: what have we learned?

Coronary angiography is unable to visualise the atherosclerotic involvement of the arterial wall. Bifurcation lesions are particularly difficult to assess by angiography because overlapping mother and daughter vessels often obscure the lesion and carina. On the contrary, IVUS imaging allows for precise, real-time, cross-sectional assessment of all bifurcation lesion segments, enabling measurements of luminal and vessel areas. Moreover, IVUS evaluation of stent expansion, apposition and edge problems is also superior to angiographic assessment. In spite of the lack of adequately powered randomised trials, there is growing evidence from large registries and meta-analyses showing better acute and long-term outcomes of DES implantation guided by IVUS, in comparison to angiography-guided procedures. In this review, we summarise current scientific evidence, the European Society of Cardiology recommendations and the European Bifurcation Club consensus for the use of IVUS in bifurcation stenting.