title: Angioplasty and stenting of completely occluded iliac arteries.
abstract: Percutaneous angioplasty and placement of balloon-expandable intraluminal stents were performed in 12 iliac occlusions in 12 patients. Indications were limb salvage in seven and claudication in five. After successful stenting, ankle-brachial indexes improved by 0.15 or more in 11 of 12 patients (mean increase, 0.40), transstenotic pressure gradients decreased to less than 5 mm Hg (mean, 0.58 mm Hg) in all patients, and improvement in clinical grade was seen in all patients. At follow-up at 1-14 months (median, 6 months), ankle-brachial indexes were stable (mean, 0.95), and clinical grades were unchanged in all patients. Complications occurred in two patients; both experienced distal embolization, and one, who was receiving corticosteroid therapy, also suffered stent thrombosis. Local surgical embolectomy was successful in both patients, and the thrombosed stent was recanalized with urokinase. This early experience suggests that stenting may play an important role in the management of iliac occlusions, especially in poor surgical candidates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 78284-7800.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Palmaz
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roeren
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schwarten
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Schatz
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Root
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007083:Iliac Artery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged