[Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in aortic coarctation. The short- and median-term results]. / Angioplastía transluminal percutánea en coartación aórtica. Resultados a corto y mediano plazo.

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed in 34 patients with aortic coarctation (Ao Co). One of them with coarctation after surgical correction, the rest were native Ao Co. We used one balloon in 28 patients and two balloons simultaneously in 6. They were separated in three groups according to the degree of aortic arc hypoplasia. Group I (mild to moderate hypoplasia N = 9) the gradient dropped 39% with angiographic improvement of 48% during the follow-up (m = 13.1 months). Three cases with restenosis, 2 were satisfactory dilated and one was sent to surgery. In Group II (severe hypoplasia N = 4) the gradient dropped 31% with angiographic improvement of 30% (follow-up 16.3 months). Two cases with recoarctation were sent to surgery. In Group III (without hypoplasia N = 21) we obtained dropped of gradient of 71% with angiographic improvement of 60% (follow-up 18.5 months). Two cases were redilated successfully. The complications were: cerebral hemorrhage with death due to hypertensive crisis, (1) cerebral embolism, (1) thrombosis in the puncture site 1 and small aneurysm in dilated zone. (1) We think PTA is a good choice to conventional surgery with low rate of morbidity-mortality. The results depend basically on the anatomic type of coarctation and degree of aortic arch hypoplasia.

[Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty using balloon catheter in a Blalock-Taussig pulmonary-systemic fistula]. / Angioplastia transluminal percutánea con catéter de globo en una fístula sistémico-pulmonar de Blalock-Taussig.

Percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty has been used successfully in the treatment of valvular and vascular stenosis. This article describes our experience with this technique to improve pulmonary blood flow in a patient with a severely stenotic Blalock-Taussig (B-T) systemic-to-right pulmonary artery anastomosis, with improvement in oxygen peripheric saturation from 33 to 78% immediately postdilatation and 69% three months later. Hemoglobin decreased from 20.4 to 18.9 gm/dl and hematocrit from 64% to 58.5%. In conclusion we think that this technique is an alternative instead of cardiac surgery, in these cases the procedure is only palliative.