Henry H. Ting

Evaluation of long-term survival after successful percutaneous coronary intervention among patients with chronic renal failure ∗

We studied the long-term outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention in dialysis patients and in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) (serum creatinine > or = 3.0 mg/dl). All-cause mortality at 1 year was 2.9% for the control group, 16.2% for the group with CRF, and 14.1% for dialysis patients. Cardiac mortality at 1 year was 1.9% for ther control group, 15.2% for the group with CRF, and 10.0% for dialysis patients.

Excimer Laser Angioplasty

Although balloon angioplasty has been a significant advance in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease, this treatment is limited by a significant incidence of restenosis that averages about 50% in most recent reports.1,2,3 Restenosis after balloon angioplasty is associated with the healing response of vascular tissue to injury and involves platelet deposition, inflammatory cell infiltration, smooth muscle cell proliferation, and extracellular matrix formation.4 Because the mechanism of vessel dilatation in balloon angioplasty involves significant vessel injury with intimal fissuring, limited penetration into the subintimal space, and occasionally deep dissection into the media, it was hoped that interventional methods causing less vascular injury would decrease the likelihood of restenosis.