Background Failure of balloon catheter passing through the occluded segment accounts for 10%-15% of all procedures during percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)for chronic total occlusion(CTO).We sought to investigate an original technique for facilitating balloon catheter passing by multi-wire plaque crushing.Methods Between July 2000 and October 2007,152 patients with 164 CTO lesions who had failed balloon passing were treated by multi-wire plaque crushing technique.The main process of this technique was to insert 1 or 2 wires along with the original wire located in the true lumen of CTO lesions after balloon failure for plaque crushing and then to withdraw the crushing wires to get an enlarged lumen inside of the occlusion segment,thus facilitating the balloon passing.Results Both overall lesion and technique success rates were 91.5%(150/164).A total of 211 crushing wires were used during PCI,including 1 crushing wire for 117(71.3%)lesions and 2 crushing wires for 47(28.7%)lesions.Approximately 57.3%(121/211)of all crushing wires were those already used in the same procedure.Technique failure occurred in 14 lesions(8.5%).Technique failure was due to crushing wires entering false lumen(92.9%,13/14)and coronary perforation(7.1%,1/14).Major procedural complications included coronary perforation(1 case)and severe coronary dissection(2 cases),all of which were successfully treated.Conclusions Multi-wire plaque crushing technique is effective in facilitating balloon catheter passing during CTO PCI.It is feasible,economical and relatively safe with a low rate of procedural complications.