[Alternative techniques in coronary intervention--a new differential therapy?].

Alternative coronary angioplasty techniques have not been applied as often as initially supposed. Due to the favorable success rates, complication rates and costs, balloon angioplasty is still the gold standard and primary intervention procedure. Beyond that, in randomized studies recurrence rates were shown mostly higher with newer techniques. Thus alternative techniques are recommendable only when balloon angioplasty is unsuccessfull or when a failure is to be expected. Today, some niches for alternative techniques can be defined, although they have to be confirmed in further randomized studies, particularly since these techniques usually require a final balloon dilatation and can give rise to new complications.