PERCUTANEOUS TRANSLUMINAL ANGIOPLASTY IN SELECTED PATIENTS WITH SEVERE CAROTID-ARTERY STENOSES - THE RESULTS OF A CONSECUTIVE SERIES OF 24 PATIENTS

Objectives: to assess clinically and with duplex scanning the results of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in a subgroup of patients wit h carotid artery stenosis. Design: a retrospective study. Materials: t wenty-four patients with focal hemispheric neurological symptoms from a concentric, smooth carotid stenosis more than 70% treated with ballo on dilatation. Control investigations were performed with duplex scann ing. Results: angiography after PTA revealed no residual stenosis in 1 5 patients (62%), a stenosis of less than 50 was seen in seven patient s (30%) and PTA was ineffective in, two patients (8%). Three patients (13%) had transient ischaemic attacks during the procedure but none ha d strokes. One patient experienced shout lasting paraesthesia of the a rm a few hours after the PTA procedure. After a follow-up of a mean of 11 months (1-38) no recurrent symptoms had occurred. Clinical success was thus achieved in 22 of 24 patients (92%) At duplex scanning, 16 ( 66%) patients had no stenosis, six patients (30%) had a stenosis of 70 %, one patient (4%) a stenosis of 80%, and one patient had an occluded carotid artery. Conclusion: our results indicate that PTA in a select ed group of patients with carotid artery stenosis is safe and the inte rim, long-term results are promising. The procedure must be evaluated in a randomised prospective study against surgical treatment.