Crossover from transradial to ipsilateral transulnar access after sheath insertion into the radial artery

Abstract

The radial artery has been the preferred access site for percutaneous coro‑ nary procedures since it has some proven clini‑ cal benefits.1‑3 However, in some studies, the fail‑ ure of transradial access (TRA) was reported in 1% to 7% of cases, mainly due to the inability of puncture, radial artery spasm or dissection, hypoplastic or small radial artery, and failure of catheter passage to the subclavian artery and ascending aorta.1,4 In these situations, the ip‑ silateral transulnar access (TUA) has shown to be a safe and feasible alternative to contralat‑ eral TRA for coronary interventions.5,6 In the present report, we describe 11 cases of success‑ ful crossover performed from the radial to ipsi‑ lateral ulnar artery after sheath insertion into the radial artery.