Anatomical navigational difficulties in transradial right carotid artery stenting with 7-F Optimo balloon guide catheter.

Objectives: Carotid artery stenting (CAS) using a 7-F Optimo balloon guide catheter (BGC) via the right radial artery (RA) was performed for stenosis of the right carotid artery. The factors affecting the difficulty in navigating the BGC from the right RA to the right common carotid artery (CCA) were investigated.

Materials and methods: For 40 cases of stenosis of the right carotid artery, CAS using a 7-F Optimo BGC via the right RA was performed. Pre-operative anatomical length and angle of the access route were retrospectively examined.

Results: The 7-F Optimo BGC successfully reached all lesions; however, navigational difficulties were encountered in seven out of 40 cases (17.5%). One case in the difficult group experienced an ischemic complication. The height from the topmost point of the subclavian artery (SA) to the origin of the SA (SA height) was 44.4 mm versus 28.1 mm (p < 0.01), and the angle between the SA and the CCA (SA-CCA angle) was 21.6° versus 47.9° (p < 0.01) in the difficult and easy groups, respectively. For lesions with difficult navigation, the sensitivity and specificity of the SA height >34 mm were 100% and 82%, and the sensitivity and specificity of the SA-CCA angle <30° were 100% and 82%.

Conclusions: For stenosis of the right carotid artery, transradial-CAS using a 7-F Optimo BGC is a safe procedure. However, navigating the BGC becomes difficult when the SA height is >34 mm and the SA-CCA angle is <30°.