Cutting balloon angioplasty for cardiac transplant vasculopathy

We performed Cutting Balloon angioplasty on 20 lesions in 11 heart transplant recipients 7.5 ± 3.8 years after transplantation. The mean percentage of diameter stenosis decreased from 88.3% ± 13.8% to 19.6% ± 13.7% after Cutting Balloon angioplasty without complication. Seven patients underwent follow-up angiography at 4.9 ± 1.7 months in a total of 12 lesions, and all lesions showed restenosis with a mean diameter stenosis of 84.4% ± 19.2%. Cutting Balloon angioplasty can be used to treat obstructions in cardiac transplant coronary arteries; however, it may cause exacerbation and produce a high restenosis rate.