Chongqing - A Chinese medical team from Chongqing worked with doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Barbados to reopen a long-blocked coronary artery in a 54-year-old man on Oct. 14, using ultrasound imaging to guide the complex procedure, according to the Chinese medical team.
The team said it was the first IVUS-guided procedure in Barbados to reopen a flush chronic total occlusion (CTO) in the left anterior descending artery, one of the heart's major blood vessels. A CTO occurs when a coronary artery has remained completely blocked for an extended period.
Cui Kun, head of the eighth Chinese medical team, and Barbadian doctor Dawn Scantlebury examine a monitor during the IVUS-guided coronary procedure at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. (Photo: The eighth Chinese medical team to Barbados)
The patient had experienced recurring chest pain, and tests showed reduced blood flow to his heart. Coronary arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle, and restricted flow can cause chest pain or, in severe cases, damage the heart muscle.
What made the procedure particularly difficult was that the blockage had no clearly visible entry point. Doctors needed to pass a thin guidewire through the obstructed section, but taking the wrong path could damage the artery and cause life-threatening bleeding around the heart, the medical team explained.
Cui Kun and Scantlebury discuss the patient's case in the operating room at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, where doctors treated a complex coronary artery blockage. (Photo: The eighth Chinese medical team to Barbados)
Cui Kun, head of the eighth Chinese medical team to Barbados and a cardiologist at Chongqing General Hospital, proposed using IVUS to guide the procedure. Coronary angiography uses X-rays and a special dye to show the arteries, but in this case, the images did not clearly reveal where the blockage began. IVUS uses a tiny ultrasound probe inside the artery to provide a closer view of its internal structure, helping doctors locate the blockage more precisely.
The approach was supported by Dr. Dawn Scantlebury, head of cardiovascular services at QEH. During the procedure, Cui worked with the Barbadian doctors to interpret the IVUS images and locate the blockage. When the local doctors had difficulty passing the guidewire through the obstructed section, Cui took over the critical step and successfully guided the wire through the blockage into the artery's true lumen.
A second IVUS examination confirmed that the wire had followed the correct path inside the artery. The doctors then placed a stent to help keep the vessel open, completing the procedure. The patient experienced no discomfort after the procedure, according to the medical team.
Coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images show key stages of the Oct. 14 procedure at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, from locating the blockage and guiding a wire through it to confirming the wire's position and placing a stent. (Photo: The eighth Chinese medical team to Barbados)
The October operation extended the hospital's use of IVUS to a more challenging type of coronary blockage. Earlier in 2026, Chinese and Barbadian doctors performed Barbados' first IVUS-guided complex coronary intervention at QEH, using the technology to assess a coronary lesion and guide stent placement.
Doctors used a China-made IVUS system previously donated to QEH. Beyond treating patients, the Chinese medical team has been helping local doctors learn how to use the technology. So far, it has conducted seven related training sessions, combining practical demonstrations, image interpretation, and case discussions.
Cui Kun discusses a coronary intervention case with local doctors during a training session. (Photo: The eighth Chinese medical team to Barbados)
Chongqing General Hospital took the lead in forming the eighth Chinese medical team to Barbados, working with three other hospitals in Chongqing. The team was dispatched to Barbados in December 2025 and has since been working alongside local healthcare professionals at QEH. The hospital has offered coronary interventions since 2016.
The ongoing training aims to help Barbadian doctors use IVUS more widely in complex coronary procedures, giving patients with difficult blockages more treatment options in the future.