Radiology, Vol 181, 61-66, Copyright © 1991 by Radiological Society of North America

ARTICLES

Femoropopliteal arterial occlusions: laser-assisted versus conventional percutaneous transluminal angioplasty

HF Odink, HC de Valois and BC Eikelboom
Department of Radiology, Vascular Center of the Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.

Recanalization of 75 femoropopliteal arterial occlusions was attempted with either conventional percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (n = 28; mean occlusion length, 5.5 cm) or percutaneous laser-assisted angioplasty (PLA) (n = 47; mean occlusion length, 11.6 cm). Conventional recanalization was technically successful in 21 patients (mean occlusion length, 4.4 cm +/- 3.9) and was a technical failure in seven (mean occlusion length, 8.7 cm +/- 6.2). The technical outcome was a function of the length of the occlusion (P = .04). The PLA procedure, performed with a laser with a sapphire probe, was a technical success in 32 patients (mean length, 10.7 cm +/- 6.5) and a technical failure in 15 (mean length, 13.6 cm +/- 8.2). With PLA, the length of the occlusion did not determine the technical (P = .20) or clinical (P = .12) outcome. In patients with gangrene, PLA of occlusions longer than 5 cm failed clinically (P = .02). This PLA method appeared to be safe and allowed passage through occlusions longer than 10 cm.

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