title: Immediate structural changes of porcine renal arteries after angioplasty: a histological and morphometric study.
abstract: The aim of this research was to characterize the immediate alterations induced by angioplasty and to compare the results of the application of two types of balloons. Ten porcine renal arteries were dilated with a compliant balloon, and ten with a non-compliant balloon. After angioplastic treatment arterial specimens were wax embedded for light microscopy. Sections were stained with the orcein-Van Gieson method, orcein, haematoxylin-eosin, and PAS. Image analysis was performed taking into consideration the following parameters: thickness of the entire wall, of the tunica media and of the inner elastic lamina. The major axes of the smooth muscle cells nuclei were also measured. The effects of the two types of balloon resulted in changes consisting in thinning of the entire arterial wall, reduction of the tunica media, distension of reticular fibers, presence of wide spaces between smooth muscle cells, stretching of smooth muscle cells, inner elastic lamina thickening. Both angioplasty devices used can modify the vascular wall. The identification of the tunica media structural damages might be useful in order to estimate the behavior of the vascular wall in the follow-up after angioplasty, because the entity of modifications could be predictive of restenosis that often takes place weeks or months after angioplasty.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Morphology and Applied Biology-Section of Histology and Medical Embryology, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, I-56126 Pisa.
authors.forename: Delfo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: D'Alessandro
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moscato
authors.forename: Amelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dolfi
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bartolozzi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calderazzi
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bianchi
mesh_terms: D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D019044:Image Cytometry; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000473:pathology; D012077:Renal Artery / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013552:Swine; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000473:pathology