PTA and laser assisted PTA combined with simultaneous surgical revascularization

In this study we investigated the efficacy of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and laser percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (LPTA) as an adjunct to surgery in patients with peripheral vascular disease. We report 84 cases of the simultaneous association of direct arterial surgery and angioradiological procedures to treat 82 patients with arterial occlusive disease of the lower limbs. Sixty-five patients (79.2%) were affected by severe claudication and 14 (19.6%) presented with rest pain or gangrene. One patient (1.2%) had signs of acute ischemia. PTA or LPTA were utilized as an inflow procedure in 41 cases (48.8%), as an outflow procedure in 24 (28.6%) and in 19 cases (22.6%) to recanalize an arterial occlusion in the contralateral limb opposite to surgical interventions. Immediate postoperative patency was achieved in 79 cases (94.0%), while in 5 cases (6.0%) it was impossible to perform a satisfactory balloon dilatation. The complication rate was 16.6%: 10 perioperative thromboses, 1 plaque dissection, 1 peripheral embolus, 1 haemorrhage and 1 femoral nerve lesion. No perioperative mortality occurred in this group of patients. Long term patency, analyzed with the life-table method (mean follow-up: 28 months) was respectively 78.0%, 76.3% and 78.9% at 5 years. These data indicate that the combined revascularization technique should always be recommended in properly selected patients because it is less invasive, the surgical risk and operative time are reduced and associated with early and long term cumulative patency rates comparable to those of extensive surgery.