ANGIOPLASTY WITHOUT THE USE OF Y-CONNECTOR - A NEW, EASIER, BLOODLESSMETHOD

The ''Y connector'' that is used in angioplasty has the following disa dvantages: 1) it is not blood-tight; 2) we need to ''screw and unscrew '' every time we want to inject contrast material or measure the press ure; and 3) it does not allow the advancement of the guidewire or the balloon catheter during the injection of contrast material, We created a new type of connection composed of a cut sheath for the femoral art ery, connected with a cut (at the ''hub'') guiding catheter, The aim o f this study was to examine the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of t he new method, Using the new technique we performed plain-balloon angi oplasty, implantation of stent, and atherectomy in 350 patients. The t echnical success of the method was 100%, and no complications related to the method were seen. In conclusion, the novel connection that we c reated eliminated all the disadvantages of the ''Y connector'' and was found to have 100% technical success and safety. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.