Unexpected opening of a totally occluded septal branch originating from an atheromatous lesion successfully treated with angioplasty and stenting.

In about 50% of patients who undergo a percutaneous coronary intervention for an atheromatous lesion there is a side branch that is involved in or borders on the lesion. In such cases, the invasive cardiologist must make every attempt to rescue this branch. We present an unusual case of unexpected opening of a side branch of a coronary artery after balloon angioplasty and stenting of the main vessel. In a patient with subtotal occlusion of the anterior descending coronary artery, angioplasty and stenting caused the opening of a previously totally occluded septal branch that originated from within the treated atheromatous lesion. This case is an unusual example of atheromatous plaque shift that had an unexpectedly beneficial result.