November 7, 2019 — There was no difference between drug-coated balloons (DCB) vs.
Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO)
This channel includes news and new technology innovations for chronic total occlusions (CTOs). This includes both coronary and peripheral CTOs. CTOs are complete occlusions of arteries due to atherosclerosis plaque build up along the wall of the artery. CTOs have traditionally been treated with bypass surgery, but with the advent of better catheter and imaging technologies, minimally invasive interventional catheter-based techniques are now often used to reopen the blocked artery to avoid surgery, or if the patient is too sick for surgery. Here are some key pieces of CTO content in this channel:
VIDEO: New Technology to Treat Chronic Total Occlusions (CTOs), an interview with Farouc Jaffer, M.D., Ph.D.
When to Consider Revascularization of Coronary Chronic Total Occlusions
VIDEO: Treating Chronic Total Occlusions, an interview with Bill Lombardi, M.D.
VIDEO: The Evolution of Complex PCI at University of Colorado — Interview with John Messenger, M.D., and Kevin Rogers, M.D.
VIDEO: How to Treat CTOs and Complex PCI Cases — Interview with Khaldoon Alaswad, M.D.

There are always a lot of guidewires used in CTO cases, but they all look the same so it can be confusing as to which is which as they are exchanged out and are all set on the same table. John Messenger, M.D., at the University of Colorado, likes to write the name of each wire on a towel and put the towel on top to keep them straight for himself and staff in the room. Photo by Dave Fornell.