High-grade, non-flow-limiting dissections do not negatively impact long-term outcome after paclitaxel-coated balloon...

To investigate the impact of using paclitaxel-coated balloons (PCB) on outcome after post-angioplasty dissection in femoropopliteal arteries.

The angiograms obtained in the THUNDER study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00156624) were analyzed to compare degrees of dissection and angiographic parameters between the control (uncoated balloons, n=43) and treatment (PCBs, n=43) groups before and after the intervention and at 6-month follow-up. Furthermore, target lesion revascularizations (TLR) were documented up to 2 years.

In each group, 24 (56%) patients had a dissection after the intervention. At the 6-month follow-up, patients with dissection of any grade after treatment with PCBs had significantly less late lumen loss (0.4 mm) than patients with dissection after treatment with uncoated balloons (1.9 mm, p=0.001) and a lower degree of stenosis (20% vs. 51%, respectively; p=0.003). Patients with severe dissection (grades C, D, or E) especially seemed to benefit from the PCBs, with late lumen loss of 0.4 mm vs. 2.4 mm for controls (p=0.05). The binary restenosis rate was also markedly lower in the PCB group (20%) than in the uncoated group (55%, p=0.02). In the 2-year follow-up, TLR was performed in 56% of patients in the control group compared to 10% of patients in the PCB group (p=0.002).

The results of this subgroup analysis suggest that patients with dissection following treatment with a paclitaxel-coated balloon have a very acceptable outcome and stent implantation is not necessary as long as the dissection does not result in acute flow limitation.