Laserassisteret ballonangioplastik af okklusioner i det femoropopliteale segment

During 1990 through 1992, 32 patients with arterial occlusive disease of the femoropopliteal segment underwent laser-assisted balloon angioplasty at the vascular service of Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen. A pulsed ultraviolet excimer laser was employed. Initial angiographic and clinical success was achieved in 20 of 32 femoropopliteal occlusions (63%). Life-table analysis revealed a cumulated patency rate of 40%, 33% and 25% after one month, one and three years, respectively. There was no correlation between initial success rate and length of occlusion, status of run-off, calcification or number of collateral vessels. In this series, laser angioplasty carried a high risk of perforation. The initial and long-term results were no better than could be expected of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, suggesting that laser-assisted balloon angioplasty has no place in the vascular surgical armamentarium.