buddy wire technique
Use of a second guidewire to provide additional support, straighten vessel tortuosity, or protect side branches during intervention.
Full Definition
The buddy wire technique involves placing a second guidewire alongside the primary working wire to enhance procedural success and safety. This approach serves multiple purposes including providing additional support for equipment delivery in tortuous vessels, straightening acute angles that impede device passage, protecting important side branches during main vessel intervention, and facilitating re-entry in dissection planes. The buddy wire may be placed in the same vessel distal to the lesion, in a side branch, or in an adjacent vessel depending on the specific indication. Careful wire management is essential to prevent tangling, and the buddy wire should typically be removed before the primary wire to avoid complications.
Usage
Usage note: Specify the purpose and location of the buddy wire in procedural documentation.
In Context
- "A buddy wire was placed in the diagonal branch to facilitate LAD stent delivery and prevent side branch compromise." — Catheterization procedure note
- "The buddy wire technique successfully straightened the shepherd's crook RCA, allowing passage of the rotational atherectomy burr." — Complex intervention report