Intestinal angina: percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed in ten patients with chronic ischemia of the mesenteric arteries and stenoses of the celiac artery and/or the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). PTA was performed on 14 occasions, with attempted dilation of 19 arteries. PTA was technically unsuccessful in two patients. Seventeen of 19 arteries (90%) were successfully dilated in eight patients, resulting in relief of symptoms that lasted from 6 to 24 months. Symptoms recurred in five patients, and redilation in three of them relieved the symptoms. Three patients, one of them following redilation, remained asymptomatic 7-9 months following PTA. An asymptomatic intimal dissection of the SMA was the only complication attributable to the procedure. PTA of celiac and SMA stenoses is an alternative to surgical revascularization and can be repeated if symptoms recur.