Short-term intimal heating may be effective to improve luminal geometry without deep medial injury which can induce restenosis. We developed a new laser-heated thermal balloon catheter which can quickly raise and lower the balloon temperature. To investigate the acute effect of short-term thermal balloon angioplasty (STBA) for stenotic lesions, we performed STBA following balloon angioplasty (BA) in 8 canine stenotic femoral arteries. Cw Nd:YAG laser delivery (10 W, 15 s) induced the maximum temperature of 83 degree(s)C on average. Angiography and angioscopy were performed at pre-BA, post-BA and post-STBA. The angiographical mean stenotic diameter was 1.8 mm at pre-BA, 2.2 mm* at post-BA, 2.9 mm** at post-STBA (*:p < 0.05 pre-BA vs post-BA, **:p < 0.05 pre- and post-BA vs post-STBA). The angioscopic observation revealed intimal flaps and tears in 7 lesions after BA. The luminal geometry after STBA was symmetrically expanded. However, the intimal injury was still observed although the intimal flaps were partly sealed by STBA. These results suggested that the dilatation mechanism of STBA for stenotic lesions might be attributed to preventing elastic recoil rather than to sealing intimal fragments induced by BA.

Date Published: 23 June 1993
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 1878, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Cardiovascular Interventions III, (23 June 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.146577

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1878:
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Cardiovascular Interventions III
George S. Abela M.D., Editor(s)