Angioplasty of the terminal aorta: follow-up of 20 patients treated by PTA or PTA with stents.

Twenty patients with distal aortic stenosis were treated by PTA for intermittent claudication and, in 3, 'blue toe' syndrome. Additionally, a self-expandable endoprosthesis (stent) was inserted into the aorta in three of the patients. The overall primary success rate (including those with a stent) was 100% with all patients becoming free of symptoms. Mean arm-ankle pressure difference decreased from 48 mmHg to 9 mmHg (P less than 0.01). During a median follow-up period of 15 months no patient had recurrence of claudication, embolism, or deterioration of the non-invasive parameters. Thus, PTA seems suitable for treating stenoses of the abdominal aorta, even in the presence of distal microembolization. Balloon dilatation, with the addition of stents in resistant cases, offers a valuable alternative to surgery in distal aortic stenosis.