In-stent restenosis (ISR) is still a growing problem in interventional cardiology due to the increasing number of stent implantations. Various treatment modalities are available at present. As a non ablative strategy balloon angioplasty is the strategy of choice for focal ISR, while ablative techniques such as directional coronary atherectomy, Excimer laser coronary angioplasty and rotational atherectomy are used preferentially in diffuse restenosis processes. These debulking techniques are optimized by peri-interventional use of intravascular ultrasound and adjunctive balloon angioplasty. Study data comparing different interventional approaches, usually with adjunct balloon angioplasty, have not proven an optimal treatment modality for ISR yet.
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