Thrombus aspiration catheter is a Dottering balloon.

Coronary angiogram in a young man with history of STEMI with delayed presentation revealed subtotal occlusion of left anterior descending artery (LAD) with large thrombotic filling defect distal to the critical lesion. PCI was preferred without delay because of ongoing chest pain. Several runs of thrombus aspiration failed to detect any visible thrombus. However, the immediate angiogram after thrombus aspiration showed complete distal embolization of the thrombus which could have been achieved by Dottering or balloon dilatation. In contrary to the general perception, does thrombus aspiration push more thrombus than it can aspirate?