title: Laser thermal angioplasty for early repair of anastomotic stenosis after lower extremity arterial reconstruction: initial experience.
abstract: Laser thermal angioplasty with a sapphire hot-tip Nd-YAG laser system was effectively used for five grafts with anastomotic stenotic lesions which occurred after femoro-popliteal arterial reconstructions. Stenotic lesions were detected by a combination of Doppler flow waveform analysis and ankle/brachial index measurement in 32 femoro-popliteal and five femoro-tibial arterial bypass grafts in the postoperative period. The laser probe used was 3 to 4 mm in diameter. There were no perforations of the arterial wall caused by thermal ablation, even with repeated pulses of 40 watts of laser energy for 3 s. Contact Nd-YAG laser thermal angioplasty using this rounded, 3-4 mm hot-tip facilitated effective widening of the lumen of the anastomotic stenotic lesion. All patients remain well at follow-up from 9 to 20 months after laser thermal angioplasty.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okadome
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Muto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Onohara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimachi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016342:Angioplasty, Laser / Q000379:methods*; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011150:Popliteal Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors