ABSTRACT
Overview The introduction of atherectomy devices in the early 1980s followed the observation that balloon angioplasty procedures were troubled by a high incidence of elastic recoil and abrupt closure.1 It was hypothesized that a reduction of the rigid and calcified material often present in the lesions prone to cause problems could reduce the incidence of uncontrolled vessel dissection and abrupt closure. Although high-pressure balloon dilatation and coronary stenting have overcome most of the problems initially faced by coronary interventionists, recoil and restenosis are as yet incompletely solved issues. This is the rationale for the ongoing search for the ideal atherectomy device. It remains a dream that by reducing the ‘bad’ tissue in the coronary artery, one can restore-at least in part-some of the normal coronary physiology, and thereby achieve a more long-lasting result after intervention.
