Atherectomy has an increased importance in the percutaneous treatment of anatomically complex coronary artery disease.
By Antonis Pratsos, MD
http://www.citoday.com/PDFarticles/0109/...

http://www.springerlink.com/content/m844...

Crossing of a calcified “balloon uncrossable” coronary chronic total occlusion facilitated by a laser catheter:
http://www.internationaljournalofcardiol...

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:vWQ...

Rotational atherectomy as well as newly emerging
orbital atherectomy are excellent devices for
calcified lesions in peripheral arteries.
The second next-generation adaptation with the
technology would be to merge visualization technology
with the laser catheter, which will also allow better
imaging within the vessel to determine where the
ablation is required.
Other applications will be investigated in the future,
especially for venous thrombosis, potential use in A-V
dialysis grafts, and perhaps a few years ahead,
treatment of acute stroke, where a very small,
flexible catheter can be utilized to thrombectomize
distal intracranial vessels.
http://www.cathlabdigest.com/article/701...

Excimer Laser Atherectomy in Acute Myocardial
Infarction-Evidence-based Treatment Approach
The emission of excimer light results in adequate
thrombus removal and clearance,6–8 thus, contributing
to rapid restoration of enhanced antegrade
thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow
within the infarct-related vessel.
The excimer laser energy is uniquely capable of
suppression of platelets aggregation,9 significantly
reducing the need for administration of expensive
glycoprotein 2b/3a receptor inhibitors.
The underlying atherosclerotic plaque is vaporized
and debulked.
The effective interaction of the excimer light with
the thrombus and plaque eliminates the need to use
distal protection devices, even in saphenous vein
graft interventions.
The laser facilitates subsequent stenting of the
target lesion.
US Cardiology

http://www.tctmd.com/CTOCOE.aspx