Balloon aortic valvuloplasty, Impella insertion and complex coronary intervention: is this all feasible fully percutaneously via upper limb access?

Abstract

Complex high-risk indicated patients (CHIP) with a limited vascular access constitute a real challenge for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), particularly if they require mechanical circulatory support devices. A 73-year-old man with recent non-ST segment elevation myocardial infraction, depressed left ventricular function (ejection fraction, 40%), aortic stenosis (max/mean gradient, 50/32 mm Hg; aortic valve area and its index, 1.0 cm2 and 0.5 cm2/m2) and numerous comorbidities (including recently diagnosed lung cancer in the initial phase) was scheduled by the heart team for balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) and Impella-supported complex PCI of the left main (LM) and the left anterior descending artery (LAD) (Figure 1 A) – the dominant right coronary artery was chronically occluded without the viability of the corresponding myocardium. Due to the abdominal aortic aneurysm with intraluminal thrombus, the procedure could only be performed via upper limb access, and the following interventional images demonstrate how to do it fully percutaneously without general anesthesia.