Background. Atherosclerotic plaque fracture and dissection of the arterial wall are frequent concomitants of the balloon angioplasty process. The composition and morphology of plaque within the vessel may be critical in determining the extent of plaque fracture and dissection during balloon angioplasty. To examine this potential association in the clinical setting, we studied patients with intr...

BACKGROUND Although the benefits of primary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction have been demonstrated, several areas for improvement remain. Therefore, a prospective randomized trial comparing primary stenting with balloon angioplasty in patients with acute myocardial infarction was conducted. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with acute myocardial infarction were randomly assigned to unde...

BACKGROUND Recanalisation for coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) is associated with high rates of restenosis and reocclusion. The use of intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS) may improve immediate and long-term outcomes following recanalisation. To our knowledge, no study has examined the use of ICUS-guided balloon angioplasty in CTO. AIM To compare the results of ICUS-guided balloon angioplast...

BACKGROUND Coarctation of the aorta is a discrete stenosis of the proximal thoracic aorta. The common clinical pattern is congestive heart failure in infancy. Treatment methods include balloon angioplasty and surgical repair in this age group. Percutaneous balloon angioplasty is a less invasive method for the repair of discrete coarctation but remains controversial as a primary treatment strate...

Percutaneous coronary laser thermal angioplasty was successfully performed before conventional balloon angioplasty in a 55 year old white man with a 90% left anterior descending artery stenotic lesion and angina at rest (Canadian Heart Association class IV). The lesion was reduced to 50% residual stenosis using a 1.7 mm laser-heated metallic capped fiber and two pulses of 8 W of argon laser ene...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Previous studies have demonstrated that the mechanism of acute lumen enlargement after balloon angioplasty is a combination of vessel expansion and plaque redistribution, but not plaque compression. The purpose of this study was to clarify, from a three-dimensional aspect, the vascular response to cutting balloon angioplasty. METHODS Serial intravascular ultrasound (IVU...

PURPOSE To report result and usefulness of immediate postoperative balloon angioplasty of de novo arteriovenous fistula (AVF) with limited flow just after creation. MATERIALS AND METHODS From January 1, 2012 to March 31, 2014, 1,270 patients received native AVF creations in a single vascular clinic. In twenty-four patients (1.9% of total AVF creation), immediate postoperative balloon angiopla...

BACKGROUND The proliferative response induced by balloon angioplasty is known to be an important factor in the development of restenosis after successful coronary angioplasty. METHODS AND RESULTS To study the effects of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) on cellular proliferation after experimental balloon angioplasty, LMWH (3.9 kd, 400 anti-Xa units/kg/day) was given to 20 male New Zealand ...

OBJECTIVES To compare clinical outcome in patients with complex coronary lesions treated with either excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) or balloon angioplasty. PATIENTS AND DESIGN 308 patients with stable angina and a coronary lesion of more than 10 mm in length were randomised to ELCA (151 patients, 158 lesions) or balloon angioplasty (157 patients, 167 lesions). The primary clinical ...

We report our experience in coronary angioplasty and intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) on a heavy, encircling, calcified lesion that was not dilated with the use of a cutting balloon and a non-compliant balloon. The angioplasty was successfully performed with a simple and inexpensive hugging balloon technique.