Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty as an adjunct to the surgical management of peripheral vascular disease.

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed as an adjunct to an operation in 43 patients with peripheral arterial insufficiency. This represents 26% of patients undergoing PTA over the past 44 months. In 23 patients PTA was done in conjunction with planned vascular reconstruction. It was successful in all 23 patients, and patency of the vascular graft was maintained in 22 patients during a mean follow-up period of nine months. Fourteen patients had PTA after operation. It was successful in 13 of them, and vascular patency was maintained in all 13 during a mean follow-up period of four months. Six patients had PTA prior to a distal amputation or a skin graft. All healed promptly. The overall initial success rate of PTA was 98%, the complication rate was 2%, with a late failure rate of 2%. It is concluded that PTA is a valuable adjunct to vascular surgery to improve inflow or outflow for bypass grafts, to reduce the extent of the operation in poor risk patients, to facilitate the healing of distal amputations, and to manage late graft stenosis.