The lesion length of coronary artery stenosis has been regarded as a risk factor for acute complication and long segment stenosis of the coronary artery is associated with a less chance of successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty(PTCA). Many new interventional techniques auch as excimer laser angioplasty, directional atherectomy, and long-balloon angioplasty catheter have been developed and used for long lesion of coronary artery stenosis. Only a little data is, however, available on long-balloon PTCA. This study was carried out to see the clinical results of PTCA using long-balloon angioplasty catheters.

Fifty-four coronary arterial stenotic lesions in 49 patients(M:F=32:17, 54.48.9 years)were attempted to dilate with long-balloon PTCA. Clinical diagnoses in 49 patients were acute myocardial infarction in 13, old myocardial infarction in 9, unstable angina in 18, andd stable angina in 9. Lesion length and TIMI(Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) flow of target lesions were measured before PTCA. PTCA was performed in standard fashion using long-balloon angioplasty catheters. Immediate success rate, complications, and retenosis rate were evaluated.

The associated risk factors of atherosclerosis were hypertension in 16, hypercholesterolemia in 10, smoking in 27, and diabetes mellitus in 9 patients. The target vessels were 34 left anterior descending arteries, 6 left circumflex arteries, and 14 right coronary arteries. PTCA using long-balloon catheters was performed as an adjunct to suboptimal PTCA using standard balloon catheters in 6 patients. In the remaining 44 patients, long-balloon PTCA was primarily performed due to lesion length greater than 2.0 cm. The overall success rate of long-balloon PTCA was 85.2%, and the procedure-related complications were occurred in 12(22.2%) lesions. Restenosis was revealed in 9(50%) of 18 lesions which were evaluated with follow-up coronary angiography.

Above results suggest that PTCA using a long-balloon angioplasty catheter is efficacious in dilation long segment stenosis of coronary artery with a low complication rate.