Clinical experience of laser intervention in cardiovascular disease

Summary form only given, as follows. Since the 1980's we have studied endovascular intervention, especially laser angioplasty for patients with cardiovascular arterial diseases after experimental studies. An availability of laser angioplasty as an endovascular surgery was recognized especially for patients having short segments of severe atherosclerotic changes in vessels. First of all, we review clinical experience of angioplasty by an argon laser for 125 patients (115 peripheral, 10 coronary artery). The initial success rate of laser angioplasty for the peripheral artery was 93% in the stenotic lesions and 74% in the occlusive lesions. On the other hand, cumulative patency rate was 85% in the stenotic lesions and 75% in the occlusive lesions in the long-term follow-up of 52 months on average among the patients with clinical success. On the basis of the excellent results in the peripheral arterial diseases, coronary laser angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafting was intraoperatively performed in 10 patients with anginal attack. In recent years we have performed atherectomy, in addition to laser angioplasty. These results as well as transmyocardial revascularization and laser vascular anastomosis are also discussed in detail.