[Takayasu's disease. Exploration by intra-arterial digital angiography. 50 cases]

The long-term prognosis of Takayasu's disease depends on an elective surgical treatment which requires full and accurate assessment of the lesions. We present here a retrospective study of 50 patients explored before surgery by intra-arterial digital angiography. In 92 percent of the patients the thoraco-abdominal aorta and its branches were well documented on 2 orthogonal projections performed in one single session. The high-quality intra-arterial opacification made it possible to detect incipient parietal lesions and to evaluate the lesions of the small caliber branches and the downstream bed in case of occlusion. These advantages, and the absence of morbidity in our experience, make digital panarteriography a method of choice to evaluate Takayasu's disease.