[Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with stent in arteries of the lower extremity].

The application of intraluminal stents after dilatation of arterial stenoses and occlusions has proved to be a valuable addition to the armamentarium of radiological interventions. During the last two years we have applied 70 stents to 59 arterial lesions of the lower extremities in 45 patients. 57, or 96.6%, of the procedures were primarily successful, while two patients needed bypass surgery within 1-3 weeks. Follow up at 3-24 months showed that two stents were occluded 12-18 months after insertion, while intravenous digital substraction angiography showed the rest to be still open. We conclude that intravascular stenting improves the overall results of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, and consequently expands the indications for this therapeutic procedure.