PERCUTANEOUS TRANSLUMINAL ANGIOPLASTY OF VISCERAL ARTERIAL STENOSES -RESULTS AND LONG-TERM CLINICAL FOLLOW-UP

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy and safety of percutaneous translum inal angioplasty (PTA) of the visceral arteries. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the results of PTA performed in 20 visce ral arteries in 19 patients (10 men, nine women; mean age, 63 years), Eleven patients had symptoms characteristic of mesenteric ischemia, fo ur had atypical abdominal pain, and four were undergoing prophylactic dilation before undergoing another procedure involving the abdominal a orta, Clinical follow-up was possible in all patients. RESULTS: PTA wa s technically successful in 15 of 19 patients (79%); among these 15 pa tients, 12 (80%) did well clinically. Of the seven PTA procedures that were immediate failures, five failed secondary to an occult malignanc y or to extrinsic arterial compression by the median arcuate ligament. Ten (83%) of the 12 patients in whom the procedures were immediate cl inical successes are still clinically improved at 4-73 months follow-u p (mean, 25 months), PTA was successful in only one of the four patien ts who had symptoms atypical of mesenteric ischemia, but it was succes sful in 11 of the 15 patients who had symptoms of mesenteric ischemia or who underwent prophylactic dilation, Major complications occurred i n three (16%) of the 19 patients. CONCLUSION: PTA of visceral artery s tenoses is effective in patients with symptoms of mesenteric ischemia, It is also effective as prophylaxis in patients undergoing additional procedures in the abdominal aorta.