A step-by-step guide to mastering retrograde coronary chronic total occlusion intervention in 2018: The author's perspective

Chronic total occlusion remains one of the most challenging subsets and represents the “last frontier" of percutaneous coronary intervention. Retrograde recanalization is one of the most significant amendments of the technique and has become an important complement to the classical antegrade approach. It yields a high success rate even in most complex patients. With emergence of important iterations, this approach has become safer, faster, and more successful. The author proposes a step-by-step guide to the retrograde approach with alternatives to various steps for operators wishing to embark on this strategy.