Inclusion criteria included (1) patients with complex congenital heart disease and had undergone palliated or corrected surgery before balloon dilation; (2) age not more than 18 years old; and (3) patients performed balloon angioplasty because of one or more of the following: (a) right ventricular pressure >60% of aortic pressure; (b) distal pulmonary artery stenosis (PAS), not easily accessed by a surgical approach, that served as a prelude to the definitive surgical repair of an underlying lesion; and (c) cardiovascular symptoms such as increased cyanosis or exercise intolerance.
These 3 patients underwent another drug-eluting balloon angioplasty procedure and did not experience restenosis at up to 14 months after the second procedure.
Following transluminal balloon angioplasty and stenting of lower extremity vessels clinical response manifesting either as withdrawal or as a reduction of dose of opioid analgesics was registered in 36 (86.
This allows our clinical group to provide balloon angioplasty and stent placement without the potential long-term problems associated with the current drug-eluting stents.
From the patient's perspective, balloon angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery work equally well in alleviating the chest pain called angina that plagues people with heart disease.
The angioplasty/atherectomy category includes traditional balloon angioplasty as well as the newer devices such FoxHollow Technologies' SilverHawk, Spectranetics' CliRpath excimer laser and the PolarCath cryoplasty system (Boston Scientific)," she explained.
Balloon angioplasty has been practiced since the 1970s to flatten cholesterol-laden deposits that obstruct the flow of oxygen-rich blood through an artery.
The technique, called balloon angioplasty, normally involves threading a catheter containing a tiny, uninflated balloon into a constricted vessel, then briefly inflating the balloon to compress accumulating deposits against the vessel walls.