A 72-year-old man who previously underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with a drugeluting stent implantation from the left main trunk and extending to proximal left anterior descending artery was admitted to the documented hospital for angina pectoris. Coronary angiography (CAG) revealed 90% stenosis at the ostium of the left circumflex artery (LCX) (Fig. 1A). Excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) was performed using a 0.9 mm concentric laser catheter at a pulse rate of 25 Hz and energy output of 45 mJ/mm 2 , 35 Hz and 55 mJ/mm 2 , and 45 Hz and 60 mJ/mm 2 for a total of 5200 pulses and balloon angioplasty using a drugcoated balloon (DCB) under the guidance of optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), which revealed fibrous plaque and eccentric severe calcification ( Fig. 1B). After ELCA, minimum lumen area (MLA) increased from 1.4 mm 2 to 2.6 mm 2 (Fig. 1C) and on final OFDI to 3.9 mm 2 along with minor plaque dissection ( Fig. 1D). Final CAG demonstrated optimal result without flow limitation ( Fig 1E). After discharge, no significant clinical events were reported. Eight months later, follow-up CAG and OFDI were performed. Follow-up CAG demonstrated no restenosis at the ostium of the LCX (Fig. 1F). OFDI showed that the MLA slightly decreased from 3.9 mm 2 to 3.5 mm 2 and that the minor dissection had clearly improved (Fig. 1G). The DCB is efficacious in de-novo coronary artery lesions [1], which mainly contributed to suppress the restenosis in this case; however, although OFDI after ELCA demonstrated a slight increase in MLA, ELCA might be attributed to the lesion debulking and modification leading to optimal balloon expansion. A similar mechanism was previously reported in the case of in-stent restenosis [2]. For acute myocardial infarction, the combined use of ELCA and DCB for de-novo coronary artery disease works synergistically to reduce restenosis [3]. Stent-less strategy employing ELCA and DCB may be an effective revascularization of large vessel denovo lesions, when traditional stent deployment is not a viable option.Informed consent was obtained from the patient in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration.
AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to thank Dr. Richard H. Kaszynski for reviewing and revising this manuscript.