Indications and applications of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty(PTCA) have been broaden recent years. We evaluated the initial success rate and safety of PTCA in mulitiple lesions and vessels.

To assess the success rate and safety of PTCA In mulitiple lesions and vessels, the data of 60 lesions from 28 patients(male 23, female 5, mean age 56±12 years), in whom PTCA for multiple lesions and vessels were performed, were examined. Initial results and complications were compared in 37 lesions undergoing multivessel and 23 lesions undergoing multilesion PTCA.

Overall primary success rate of procedure was 82%(49 out of 60 lesions). Angioplasty was attempted in mean 2.1 stenotic lesions per patient. Primary success rate per lesion was 84%(31 of 37) among those who underwent multivessel and 78%(18 of 23) among those who underwent multilesion PTCA(p>0.05). Success rate according to the combination of dilated vessels was 85.7%(12 of 14) in left anterior descending(LAD) and left circumflex(LCX), 83.3%(10 of 12) in LAD and right coronary artery(RCA), 100.0%(4 of 4) in LAD and diagonal branch, RCA and LCX in 75.0%(3 of 4), and 66.7%(2 of 3) in LAD, LCX and diagonal branch. Eleven failures(18.3%) included inability to pass the guide wire cross the lesion or inability to locate the balloon catheter in 5(8,3%), abrupt closure in 2(3,3%), coronary spasm in 1(1.7%) and major branch occlusion in 3(5.0%), but there was no emergency coronary bypass surgery or cardiac death.

Coronary angioplasty in selected patients with multivessel and multilesion coronary artery disease might be useful and have relatively good initial results, but the long-term efficacies with other forms of treatment must be evaluated prospectively.