Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty: initial and long-term results

Renal artery stenosis in 201 patients with hypertension was treated with percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA). A total of 213 procedures were performed as treatment of 262 separate stenosis. The stenosis was caused by atherosclerosis in 134 cases and by fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) in 52 cases; the cause was indeterminate in 27 cases. Of the 213 procedures, 172 were successful or resulted in improvement, for a technical success rate of 80.8%. The initial clinical results could be evaluated in 210 cases; cure or improvement was achieved in 80%. There were 23 cases in which neither technical nor clinical success was achieved. Data on the remaining 187 cases were the basis of this long-term follow-up study. The cumulative patency rate at 5 years was 80% in the atherosclerosis group, 89% in the FMD group, and 74% in the indeterminate group. The mortality was less than 1%. Because spasm occurred in 33 cases, causing an infarction in ten instances, antispasmodic medication seems warranted. These long-term results indicate that PTRA is the treatment of choice in patients with renovascular hypertension.