Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in the treatment of iliac stenosis. The authors{'} new guideline for 100 patients,L{'}angioplastica transluminale percutanea nel trattamento delle stenosi iliache. Nuovo orientamento personale negli ultimi 100 pazienti

This retrospective study was carried out from January, 1990, to September, 1994, after reviewing a series of 100 patients submitted to 143 percutaneous maneuvers (PTA) for aortoiliac revascularization (PTA, PTA and stenting, PTA and bypass). This study was aimed at conforming as much as possible our patients selection criteria and the analysis of the results to the current standards adopted by the major interventional radiology and vascular surgery departments. The Fontaine and the SCVIR classification methods were used for patients selection. Long-term patency was analyzed with clinical and noninvasive diagnostic exams. The results were studied with the Life-table analysis statistical method. The patients were divided into 3 groups: the patients treated only with PTA, those treated with PTA and stenting and finally those submitted to PTA before or after a surgical bypass. The results were analyzed separately. In 95/100 patients the maneuver was technically successful and immediate clinical success was not achieved only in one of them. At the first follow-up we collected data on 87 patients; at 3 years we followed-up 30 patients, but only 5 of them had to be resubmitted to PTA (3 PTA and stenting and 2 PTA alone) because of restenosis. Secondary patency was obtained in 91% and 84% of patients at 1 year and 3 years, respectively. With the Life-table analysis, the cumulative patency rate was 95.44% at 36 months. Few complications were observed (11/100 patients), especially considering that they were classified as "severe" in 3 cases only. To conclude, our results prove PTA to be a highly effective tool in the aortoiliac arteries, whose low mortality and complication rates suggest the use of this percutaneous procedure.