Abstract
Contact laser thermal angioplasty with metal hot tip heated by argon laser (Trimedyne Inc.) was performed on 34 arteries (7 iliac, 20 femoral and 7 popliteal arteries) of 22 patients from arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO).The initial success rate of the laser angioplasty was 88.5%. Clinical success was defined as an improvement in symptoms and increase in the ankle pressure index in all of these patients. There was no perforation of arterial wall caused by thermal ablation with a hot tip heated by repeat pulses under a power condition of 10 watts of argon laser energy for 5 seconds. Additional flexible fiber optic angioscopy is one of the effective adjuncts for obtaining an accurate location of a hot tip in the arterial occlusive region.Re-stenosis or occlusion of the arteries was observed in 2 of 13 patients followed up to 6 months after angioplasty.Because of limited luminal diameter dilated by thermal ablation alone, additional balloon angioplasty was necessary in all cases. No significant complications were observed during laser angioplasty without local dissection of the arterial wall after balloon dilatation. Further investigation on patency rate of the arteries is required for long follow-up period.
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