Transcatheter treatment of aortic coarctation, with balloon angioplasty or stent implantation, is now an acceptable alternative to surgical repair. However these procedures may result in complications, such as vascular wall injury and re-stenosis of the lesion. A nitinol self-expandable stent, when deployed at the coarctation site, produces low constant radial force, which may result in a gradual widening of the stenotic lesion leaving less tissue injury ('stretching rather than tearing'). For an adolescent with a native aortic coarctation, a self-expandable stent of 20 mm diameter was inserted at the discrete stenotic lesion of 5 mm diameter without previous balloon dilatation procedure. No further balloon dilatation was done immediately after the stent insertion. With the self-expandable stent only, the stenosis of the lesion was partially relieved immediately after the stent deployment. Over several months after the stent insertion, gradual further widening of the stent waist to an acceptable dimension was observed.
Adolescent ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Aortic Coarctation ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Stents

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a rare condition defined as the dilatation of coronary artery to at least 1.5 times larger than the normal adjacent coronary artery. Clinical manifestations of CAE vary, ranging from asymptomatic to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Because of its rarity and clinical diversity, the best treatment strategy and prognosis for CAE remain unclear. We describe a case of STEMI caused by intracoronary thrombus formation within an ectatic area in a patient with liver cirrhosis (LC). The patient was successfully managed by thrombus aspiration only, without balloon angioplasty or stent implantation, and maintained by dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and ticagrelor, a potent new P2Y12 inhibitor.
Angioplasty, Balloon ; Aspirin ; Coronary Vessels* ; Dilatation ; Dilatation, Pathologic ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Prognosis ; Stents ; Thrombosis*

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a rare condition defined as the dilatation of coronary artery to at least 1.5 times larger than the normal adjacent coronary artery. Clinical manifestations of CAE vary, ranging from asymptomatic to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Because of its rarity and clinical diversity, the best treatment strategy and prognosis for CAE remain unclear. We describe a case of STEMI caused by intracoronary thrombus formation within an ectatic area in a patient with liver cirrhosis (LC). The patient was successfully managed by thrombus aspiration only, without balloon angioplasty or stent implantation, and maintained by dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and ticagrelor, a potent new P2Y12 inhibitor.
Angioplasty, Balloon ; Aspirin ; Coronary Vessels ; Dilatation ; Dilatation, Pathologic ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver ; Myocardial Infarction ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Prognosis ; Stents ; Thrombosis

Most broncholiths are related to infection with fungus or tuberculosis and they involve the lymph nodes; those cases that are caused by silicosis are rarely seen. Broncholith might lead complication such as bronchial rupture into the mediastinum, which can result in hemoptysis, cough, repeated pneumonia and so on. Flexible bronchoscopy plays an important part in the diagnosis of broncholithiasis, but its therapeutic application in the clinical setting is controversial. We report here on two cases of broncholith removal without complication with the use of a balloon catheter and tripod forceps using flexible bronchoscopy.
Adult ; Aged ; *Balloon Dilatation ; Bronchial Diseases/*therapy ; *Bronchoscopy ; Calculi/*therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male

1) Among the 24 involved vessels, 5 renal arteries and one left suclavian artery were occluded totally and they were not candidate for angioplasty. 2) Four brachiocepholic branches, three renal artery, and two abdominal aorta were short segmental narrowing in nature and they were feasible for balloon balloon dilatation, 3) Eight sites of thoracic or abdominal aorta in 5 patients were involved in diffuse long segment and they were more resistant to balloon angioplasty comparing with short segmental lesions. 4) Three patients (4 arteries) needed angioplasty again because of the restenosis at the previous sites on the angiographic re-evaluation l or 2 year later. They all showed the persistent inflammatory process with elevated ESR (<20) and positive CRP. 5) The remaining three patients showed no evidence of restenosis with low ESR (<20) and negative CRP. 6) Four carotid artery involvements needed gradual dilatation with increasing the size of the balloon and there were no episodes of brain embolism.
Angioplasty* ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Aorta, Abdominal ; Arteries ; Carotid Arteries ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Intracranial Embolism ; Renal Artery ; Takayasu Arteritis*

Balloon dilatation angioplasty was performed in a 15 months old child with isolated discrete unoperated coarctation of the aorta. The peak systolic pressure gradient across the coarctation before balloon angioplasty was 80 mmHg, and immediately after balloon angioplasty it decreased to 19 mmHg. No significant complications were encountered during the procedure. No evidence of aneurysm formation and restenosis was seen on 6 months follow-up examination. Balloon dilatation angioplasty seems to be a safe and effective nonsurgical alternative for relieving the obstruction associated with discrete coarctation of the aorta.
Aneurysm ; Angioplasty ; Angioplasty, Balloon* ; Aortic Coarctation* ; Blood Pressure ; Child ; Dilatation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infant

Percutaneous mitral ballon valvuloplasty(PMV) is an effective nonsurgical procedure for patients with mitral stenosis. PMV was performed in 13 patients(mean age, 41 years) with mitral stenosis. All patients underwent echophonocardiography(Echophono) before and after PMV. Two dilatation balloons were used in which the diameters approximately equaled the mitral valve annulus diameter as determined. After PMV, the mean mitral valve pressure gradient decreased(22.3+/-1.89mmHg to 5.2+/-2.6mmHg), the mean left atrial pressure decreased(21.3+/-5.1mmHg to 9.0+/-4.5mmHg) and the mitral valve area increased from 0.8+/-0.3cm2 to 1.7+/-0.6cm2. The Echophono data are correlated with clinical and hemodynamic changes produced by PMV. PMV resulted in echophono changes consistent with decresed severity of mitral stenosis ; shortening of Q-S1, from 88+/-14 to 73+/-11 mses(p<0.01) and (Q-S1)-(S2-OS), from 0.9+/-1.7 to -2.1+/-1.6(p<0.001) ; prolongation of S2-OS from 80+/-15 to 103+/-14 msec(p<0.001) and increase of EF slope from 14.7+/-5.4 to 26.7+/-8.1 mm/sec(p<0.001). Compared with pre-PMV, post-PMV Echophono showed significant decrease in the severity of mitral stenosis. Thus Echophono is a simple, low cost method helpful in evaluation and follow-up patients undergoing PMV.
Atrial Pressure ; Balloon Valvuloplasty ; Dilatation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Stenosis

Adult ; Balloon Dilatation/*methods ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Mitral Valve Stenosis/*therapy

No abstract availble.
Adult ; *Balloon Dilatation ; Endoscopes, Gastrointestinal ; *Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal/methods ; Humans ; Male ; Meckel Diverticulum/*diagnosis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the value of the parallel wire balloon angioplasty technique for treating dysfunctional hemdialysis fistula with rigid stenosis, and this type of lesion was resistant to conventional angioplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 2002 and August 2003, we included 6 patients (mean age: 59, males: 2, females: 4) who were treated via parallel the wire balloon angioplasty technique and their hemodialysis fistula has stenoses that were resistant to conventional angioplasty. We performed conventional angioplasty in all patients, but we failed to achieve sufficient dilatation. In the cases of highly resistant stenosis, an additional 0.016 inch wire was inserted into the 7 F vascular sheath. During angioplasty, a 0.016 inch guide wire was inserted between the balloon and the stenosis and then it was pushed to and fro until the balloon indentation disappeared. After the procedure, we performed angiography to identify the residual stenosis and the procedure-related complications. RESULTS: The undilatable stenoses in 5 patients were successfully resolved without complications via the parallel wire angioplasty technique. In one patient, indentation of balloon was not resolved, but the residual stenosis was both minimal and hemodynamically insignificant. CONCLUSION: The parallel wire angioplasty technique seems to be a feasible and cost-effective method for treating a dysfunctional hemodialysis fistula with undilatable and rigid stenosis.
Angiography ; Angioplasty ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Dialysis ; Dilatation ; Female ; Fistula* ; Humans ; Male ; Renal Dialysis*