Directional coronary atherectomy: optimal atherectomy trials and new combined strategies with coronary stents.

Directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) has evolved from its early use as a tool for minimal plaque debulking to its current use of more aggressive lumen enlargement. The trend toward improved lumen results and reduced restenosis following DCA compared to percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in the Coronary Angioplasty Versus Excisional Atherectomy Trial (CAVEAT) was confirmed as a significant improvement in the subsequent Balloon versus Optimal Atherectomy Trial (BOAT). BOAT showed that acute lumen results and late angiographic restenosis could be significantly improved by DCA over PTCA, without any increase in procedural complications or late cardiac events. The role of DCA in conjunction with coronary stents is currently being defined as studies suggest that residual plaque burden after stenting is predictive of late restenosis. The Atherectomy before Multilink Stent Improves Lumen Gain and Clinical Outcomes Study (AMIGO) will help determine whether plaque debulking prior to stenting can reduce restenosis.