During percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty the correct intravascular placement of an angioplasty guidewire and balloon is important especially when crossing a site of previous intimal dissection. This may be hazardous when total occlusion prevents anterograde opacification of the artery. This case illustrates the technique of retrograde opacification of the distal vessel by cross‐filling from the contralateral coronary arter