The Triple Wire Technique for Delivery of Endovascular Components in Difficult Anatomy

Abstract

We describe a novel endovascular technique in which three 0.014″ guidewires are placed in parallel through a 0.035″ lumen catheter, in order to create a stiff platform to allow for delivery of 0.035″ profile devices through challenging anatomy. Three illustrative cases are presented: a difficult aortic bifurcation during lower extremity intervention, a tortuous internal iliac artery during placement of an iliac branch device, and salvage of a renal artery after inadvertent coverage during proximal cuff deployment for type 1a endoleak. We also quantify the relative stiffness of the triple 0.014″ wire configuration, using several well-known 0.035″ wires for comparison. The "triple wire technique" is an effective method for tracking endovascular devices through difficult tortuous anatomy, and can be used in a variety of clinical settings. The technique is especially useful when a traditional, stiff 0.035″ wire will not track without "kicking out." Each 0.014″ wire is reasonably soft and traverses the tortuous vessel easily, but when the 3 wires are used together as a rail it provides a stiff enough platform for delivery.