Limitations of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in the treatment of femoro-distal graft stenoses

Non-invasive follow-up of 94 femoro-distal reconstructions has identified 14 graft related stenoses (4 proximal anastomotic, 4 intragraft and 7 distal anastomotic). Stenoses treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) recurred by 6 months. Stenoses treated by surgical revision remained satisfactory with a mean follow-up of 13 months. In this series, formal surgical revision appears to be superior to PTA for the treatment of graft stenoses.