Iatrogenic arterial dissection: treatment by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

Iatrogenic arterial dissection may require intervention, depending on the severity of resulting stenosis and the degree of symptoms. We present 5 cases of iatrogenic arterial dissection: 1 with dissection of the lower abdominal aorta, common iliac artery, and external iliac artery, and 3 with external iliac artery dissections, all managed with percutaneous transfemoral transluminal angioplasty; and 1 with dissection of the superior mesenteric artery with angioplasty performed by the translumbar approach. Four of the 5 patients had no additional therapy; 1 patient eventually underwent surgery for an asymptomatic residual pseudoaneurysm seen on abdominal computed tomography. Angiographic follow-up in 2 patients demonstrated persistent improvement in stenosis, 1 at 2 weeks after angioplasty, and the other, 6 weeks following angioplasty. None of the 5 patients required further therapy for recurrence of symptoms on clinical follow-up obtained up to 1 year after angioplasty. Though the incidence of recurrent arterial stenosis following angioplasty for dissection may be greater than that incurred after intravascular stent placement or surgery, angioplasty may be effective, and has the advantage of being less expensive than both of these treatment modalities, and more widely available and applicable than intravascular stents.