XeCl excimer laser coronary angioplasty: a convergence of favourable factors

The results of recent studies on the application of an XeCl laser to coronary angioplasty are presented. Several points are examined: the quality of the cut in human post-mortem artery, the cutting rates and threshold fluences in different media, the risks of carcinogenesis and thrombosis, and the transmission of suitable fluences in optical fibres. Recent human in vivo procedures are reported.