Angioscope-Guided Laser Angioplasty in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease

Argon laser angioplasty was performed in 86 patients with peripheral arterial disease. Initial clinical success was achieved in 79 (79%) of all 101 lesions.%stenosis of the lesion on arteriogram was signigficantly decreased from 92.2±10.7 preoperatively to 19.1±19.8 (p<0.01), and ankle pressure index was remarkably improved from 0.50±0.18 to 0.85±0.20 (p<0.01). there were no complications required emergency operation. At the follow-up of 81 months, the cumulative patency rate was 76%in 74 cases with initial clinical success. These results suggested that laser angioplasty might be a useful treatment for the patients with arterial occlusive diseases and improve the long-term patency rate compared with conventional balloon angioplasty.Besides, angioscopic inspections were performed in the 24 patients who underwent laser angioplasty. Useful images could be obtained in 20 (83%) of 24 observations, and the successful rates of angioscopic observation were influenced by the diameter and the degree of kinking of each vessel. Angioscopy was useful not only for a diagnostic tool to inspect vascular atherosclerotic changes but also for a guide of laser recanalization.