Practical use of dual-lumen catheter-facilitated reverse wire technique for nonhighly angulated side branch

Dual-lumen catheter (DLC)-facilitated reverse wire technique is considered a method of last resort for inserting a guidewire into a markedly angulated side branch. Moreover, this technique can be practically applied to other types of anatomical variations around the bifurcation. Case 1 was that of a 53-year-old man with a tight stenosis of the proximal left anterior descending artery at the diagonal bifurcation with angiographically apparent coronary dissection. We successfully achieved guidewire insertion into the targeted branch using the DLC-facilitated reverse wire technique. Case 2 involved a 78-year-old man with total occlusion of the mid-portion of the right coronary artery. The guidewire reentry point in the atrioventricular branch was slightly distant from the true distal end of the occlusion. We successfully used the DLC-facilitated reverse wire technique to pass a second guidewire to the posterodescending artery. Case 3 was that of an 80-year-old man whose coronary artery had an aneurysm with severe stenoses at both entry and exit of the aneurysm. We adopted the DLC-facilitated reverse wire technique and easily advanced the guidewire by matching the guidewire advancing path with the direction of the sequential conduit constituted by the coronary aneurysm and stenosis. The timing of decision-making to try the DLC-facilitated reverse wire technique is important. The lesion for which reverse wiring is suitable is usually difficult to be treated with conventional guidewire crossing. We have to promptly judge the validity of applying this technique based on the angiographic findings of targeted lesions and take immediate action to implement this procedure to reduce the procedural time and irradiation dose.