Touching is Believing

by Naritatsu Saito

Percutaneous coronary intervention for an anomalous-origin right coronary artery (RCA) can be challenging because the guide catheter support is often insufficient. We found many case reports of coronary intervention for anomalous-origin RCA published in the Journal of Invasive Cardiology.1–5 We constructed a patient-specific three-dimensional (3D) aortocoronary model and conducted an in vitro simulation to plan the intervention. The procedure was smooth and successful. Our case will provide a different insight and be very interesting for readers.
The improvements on speed, accuracy, and quality in 3D printing technology brought a revolution in the manufacturing industries. Many analysts predict that the market of 3D printing will triple in size in the next 5 years. This technology is also expected to change how we practice medicine. However, how to apply the 3D printing technology to daily clinical practice is a remaining issue. One answer to this question is making a 3D organ model to simulate a complex procedure, which we demonstrate in this month’s Journal of Invasive Cardiology. The 3D model brings more information than just analyzing the image data. Touching is believing.

References
1.     Graidis C, Dimitriadis D, Chamouratidis N. Percutaneous coronary intervention of a totally occluded anomalous right coronary artery arising from the left sinus of valsalva with the use of multiple overlapping drug-eluting stents (“full-metal jacket” technique). J Invasive Cardiol. 2007;19:E261–2.

2.     Saito T, Noguchi K, Oikawa T. Iatrogenic dissection of the anomalous-origin right coronary artery and left sinus of Valsalva. J Invasive Cardiol. 2011;23:E51–3.

3. Ramanathan PK, Redfern R. Use of guideliner catheter for anomalous right coronary artery angiography and intervention. J Invasive Cardiol. 2013;25:E20–2.

4.     Komatsu T, Yaguchi I, Yufu T. Successful percutaneous coronary intervention of an anomalous right coronary artery with high anterior takeoff using a DIO thrombus aspiration catheter. J Invasive Cardiol. 2012;24:E185–7.

5.     Graidis C, Dimitriadis D, Karasavvidis V. Guideliner catheter facilitated percutaneous coronary artery intervention of an anteriorly displaced and heavily calcified right coronary artery. J Invasive Cardiol. 2012;24:E222–4.

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