Current technical and clinical features of the antegrade and retrograde approaches to percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention for chronic total occlusion – 2013 version

PCI for the treatment of CTO has made remarkable progress in recent years, and interventional cardiologists in Japan have made a great contribution to this progress. Innovative techniques, including the retrograde approach, are hot topics in the CTO field. The long-term prognosis after initial success is also attracting considerable attention. Strategies for treating CTO are continually evolving, and the author’s strategy also continues to change over time. The author’s strategy as of 2013 is described here.