Inadvertent stenting of left main coronary artery complicated by later in-stent restenosis

Stenting of both the protected and unprotected left main coronary artery has been described. This case presents a patient who had inadvertent left main stent deployment. A 47-year-old female presented with a non-Q-wave infarction and subsequent angina leading to angiography and angioplasty of her proximal ramus intermedius artery. Recurrent angina and ECG changes necessitated repeat coronary angiography and angioplasty on the same day with Wiktor stent deployment to treat a resultant dissection, Poststent deployment pictures revealed that the stent had been partially deployed in the left main coronary artery. Additional balloon dilatations were performed at the ostia of the left anterior descending and circumflex arteries through the stent. Three months later the patient presented with progressive angina and was discovered to have severe distal left main stenosis. In a case such as this, stent removal may be preferable to leaving an unnecessary stent within the left main coronary artery. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.