This session presents new techniques and practical tips in chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). It covers innovative approaches such as the side-flap technique, simplified antegrade strategies for calcified lesions, and retrograde CTO techniques, providing valuable insights into overcoming challenging occlusions.

This session explores the clinical applications of drug-coated balloons (DCB) across diverse challenging scenarios. It covers management of severely calcified nodules in acute coronary syndrome, healing of intentional dissections in chronic total occlusions using paclitaxel DCB, strategic integration of contemporary technology in complex lesion treatment, and...

Addressing high-pressure scenarios in the cath lab, this session explores calm and structured decision-making approaches for unusual and challenging PCI cases. It emphasizes optimizing management of life-threatening complications through real-time strategies and illustrative case discussions.

Fernando Alfonso and Javier Cuesta discuss the growing role of drug-coated balloons as an alternative to stents in percutaneous coronary interventions. Highlighting advantages like reduced in-stent restenosis, they emphasize the need for robust clinical studies to refine DCB use.

In this article, Bruno Scheller explores advances in local drug delivery, from drug-coated balloons to novel antiproliferative agents. These innovations aim to reduce restenosis, minimize permanent implants, and pave the way for patient-specific coronary artery disease treatments.

Ali Nazmi Calik provides a summary and key take-aways and infographics of 9 major trials of interest to interventional cardiologists presented at ACC.21