Cutting balloon coronary angioplasty—initial clinical experience

The success of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is limited by acute occlusion and late restenosis. In 25 patients (20 men, 5 women, age range 36-81 years) coronary angioplasty was performed using a new cutting balloon into which 3-4 longitudinally orientated blades are incorporated so as to reduce the rate of severe dissections. In 12 patients stenoses were reduced from 83.9 +/- 7.8% to 28.4 +/- 10.7% (mean +/- SD) by the cutting balloon alone, using predilatation with a small conventional balloon in two cases. Thirteen other patients were additionally dilated with a conventional balloon because of a residual stenosis > 50% after cutting balloon angioplasty. Here the stenoses could be reduced from 78.1 +/- 8.7% to 29.1 +/- 11.3%. Six months follow-up angiography in 14 patients showed > 50% restenosis in two of seven patients dilated with a conventional balloon in addition to the cutting balloon, and in one of seven patients dilated with the cutting balloon alone but predilated with a small conventional balloon. These results show that coronary angioplasty by the new cutting balloon results in a stenosis reduction comparable with conventional balloons at a low complication rate. Available 6 months follow-up data show three restenoses in patients either pre- or postdilated by a conventional balloon and none in stand-alone cutting balloon cases.