title: Analysis of complications after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of renal artery stenoses.
abstract: During a five-year-period percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) was attempted in 90 renal arteries with 109 stenoses and 3 occlusions in 78 patients. Complications were systematically recorded and classified as major, minor and radiological-technical. Twenty-one major complications (20.8%) including one fatality occurred as well as 17 minor, (16.8%) and 37 radiological-technical (36.6%) problems. The last group showed no clinical symptoms. The frequency of complications in our series is high compared with that in a survey of ten papers reviewing results in 675 patients. The most marked discrepancy was our high frequency of septic problems. Radiological changes are not usually reported in other series, probably because they are regarded as methodological but we considered these as potentially dangerous and important to report as they can lead to clinically relevant complications. Because of the problems reported here PTRA should only be performed in centres where complications can be properly dealt with.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Lund, General Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weibull
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bergqvist
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jonsson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carlsson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takolander
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000209:etiology*; D000368:Aged; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D006978:Hypertension, Renovascular / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012077:Renal Artery / Q000293:injuries*; D012078:Renal Artery Obstruction / Q000628:therapy*