ABSTRACT
Rationale for plaque removal prior to stenting Coronary stents, achieving greater acute gain and providing effective lumen scaffolding, are associated with better short term and long outcome compared to standard balloon angioplasty. These results were achieved in lesions located on relative large coronary arteries and in discrete saphenous vein graft (SVG) stenosis.1-3 However, these favorable results do not apply for all coronary lesions treated with catheter-based interventions in daily practice. For complex lesions such as long lesions,4
lesions located in small vessels,5,6 chronic total occlusions,7,8 ostial9,10 and bifurcation lesions11 restenosis after stenting remains a vexing problem.
