This information is approved and/or reviewed by U-M Health System providers but it is not a tool for self-diagnosis or a substitute for medical treatment. You should speak to your physician or make an appointment to be seen if you have questions or concerns about this information or your medical condition.
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Cardiac Catheterization and Intervention Services
University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center
Atherectomy
Atherectomy is a cardiac catheterization procedure that removes the fatty deposits that sometimes block coronary arteries.
The procedure is very much like a coronary angioplasty. A catheter is inserted through the artery and vein to the heart. Then the atherectomy catheter is threaded through the guiding catheter until it reaches the blockage in the coronary artery. A tiny rotating knife inside a catheter is moved to the blockage. A balloon is inflated to position the knife and it gently shaves the fatty deposit off the wall of the artery. The shavings are collected in the catheter and removed when it is withdrawn from the body.
Complete removal of the fatty deposit leaves a much smoother artery
wall and greatly reduces the chance that a fatty deposit will form
again in the same place. The result is a significant improvement in
blood flow through the coronary artery. Following the introduction
of coronary stention, atherectomy is performed only rarely.
Directional Atherectomy
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7 F GTO
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