Percutaneous interventions for treatment of iliac artery stenoses and occlusions.

Abstract

Balloon angioplasty is still the main workhorse for percutaneous interventions in the iliac arteries. It is simple to perform, cost-effective, and remarkably safe. If an adequate hemodynamic result has been achieved, patency is acceptable. To monitor the quality of success, intraarterial pressure monitoring is an important tool. Balloon angioplasty may be followed by stent insertion in case of insufficient luminal gain after inadequate balloon angioplasty or occurrence of significant dissection. Percutaneous treatment of chronic iliac occlusions is technically challenging. For chronic occlusions (duration exceeding 3 months), balloon angioplasty alone, thrombolysis with subsequent balloon angioplasty, and elective stenting or mechanical passage of the occlusion followed by primary stent implantation have been described as alternative techniques. In case of in-stent stenosis, directional atherectomy or balloon dilatation is recommended. Stent grafts allow percutaneous exclusion of isolated iliac aneurysms, iatrogenic perforation, rupture, and arteriovenous fistulas, but these cases are rare. Some authors increasingly favor the use of endoluminal graft systems for treating atherosclerotic disease in iliac arteries, but insufficient data are available to prove the benefit of stent grafts in patients with atherosclerotic disease.