A 6 Fr guiding catheter is commonly used in the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, one of the limitations of the 6 Fr guiding catheter is its weak backup support compared to a 7 or an 8 Fr guiding catheter. In this article, we present a new system for PCI called the five-in-six system. Between March 2003 and September 2003, this system was tried on eight chronic total occlusion cases. The advantage of the five-in-six system is that it increases backup support of a 6 Fr guiding catheter.

No abstract

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Pseudoaneurysm of the mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa (MAIVF) rarely forms on native aortic valve after infective endocarditis (IE). It is often fatal because of its rapid progress, high rates of rupture and recurrence, and worsening effects on the systemic condition. Echocardiography, especially transesophageal echocardiography, plays an important role in the diagnosis and assessment of this condition. We experienced a rare case of a patient with an unfortunate course following native aortic valve IE. After the patient had undergone surgical evacuation of a blood clot due to the rupturing of an embolomycotic cerebral aneurysm, a pseudoaneurysm of the MAIVF was found. Aortic valve replacement and pseudoaneurysm repair were performed 3 months after the neurosurgery. Echocardiographic still images were obtained during these two operations.