[Percutaneous aspiration thromboembolectomy: an additional transluminal angioplasty method]

Percutaneous aspiration-thromboembolectomy is a simple method for removal of thrombo-embolic material of diverse origin. It is highly effective with small material outlay. As a third angioplasty method it has considerably improved the success rates of balloon dilatation and local lysis treatment with urokinase or streptokinase. The procedure was used alone or in combination on 71 occasions involving 69 limbs in 66 patients. An angiographically demonstrable success was seen in 96% and clinical improvement in 91.6%. Local lysis treatment with streptokinase or urokinase was shortened, less hazardous and, because of removal of non-lysable material, more successful. Embolectomy with the Fogarty catheter remains the method of choice for treating emboli arising from the heart in vessels of the aorto-iliac system. For smaller vessels below the inguinal ligament, however, we consider the new, lesser invasive method to be an alternative to vessel surgery.