Percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty of the iliac artery for contralateral ischemia.

: The cases of three patients with lower extremity ischemia from ipsilateral iliac artery occlusion and contralateral iliac artery stenosis are presented. Planned treatment was percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of the contralateral iliac artery, rendering it an adequate donor vessel for subsequent femorofemoral bypass. Because of adequate collateral vessels across the pelvis, cross-femoral bypass was unnecessary following PTA. Current technology allows simultaneous intraoperative PTA and femorofemoral bypass. We do not recommend this on the basis of our experience.