Cutting Balloon Angioplasty for Ostial Lesions of the Left Anterior Descending Artery

We evaluated the effectiveness of Cutting Balloon angioplasty for ostial lesions of the left anterior descending artery compared with conventional balloon angioplasty. Cutting Balloon angioplasty (n = 7) produced larger acute gain (1.70 ± 0.37 vs 0.48 ± 0.25 mm, P < 0.001) and smaller late loss index (0.54 ± 0.55 vs 1.32 ± 0.81, P < 0.05) than conventional balloon angioplasty (n = 7). As a result, late restenosis was seen in only two patients undergoing Cutting Balloon angioplasty, but in all seven patients undergoing conventional balloon angioplasty. Ostial lesions of the left anterior descending artery may be one of the suitable targets of Cutting Balloon angioplasty. (J Interven Cardiol 2000;13:7–14)