Special devices for recanalisation of chronic total occlusions (CTO)

The presence of chronic total occlusions (CTO) in coronary arteries has a negative prognostic impact in patients with acute as well as chronic coronary syndromes. Therefore recanalisation of CTOs has evolved in recent years. Improvements in guide wire as well as microcatheter technology and the development of special devices have led to an increase of CTO-recanalisation success rate >80% in specialised centers and meaningful indications. The present manuscript gives an overview about the most important developments and newest devices for CTO-recanalisations.