Percutaneous Vascular Recanalization

The number of patients with occlusive peripheral vascular disease of the lower ex- tremities is still growing as rapidly as the number of patients with coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. Due to the increase in average life expectancy during the last few decades, more patients now need surgical vascular reconstruc- tion. This actually means a demand for more centers specializing in vascular surgery and equipped with intensive care facilities, since the number of patients with cardio- vascular and bronchopulmonary complications is increasing as well. In addition, the number of patients needing repeated vascular surgery has been growing. Therefore, the search for simple procedures to recanalize the arterial lumen which could be performed under local anesthesia is no surprise. Unfortunately peripheral vascular disease is still frequently treated by amputations. In 1967, the fIrst report in German on percutaneous recanalization of arteries with thrombotic occlusions and stenoses appeared in Rontgenfortschritte. The meth- od described in this report had been published by Dotter and Judkins in 1964. Today, 10 years after their report, more data have been systematically collected on this method in Europe than in the United States, where it was developed. Possibly an explanation of this state of affairs is that nonsurgical treatment is favored more in Europe than in the United States. The scientifIcally based angiology established by Ratschow served as the foun- dation for the development of diagnostic work-up and therapy in other directions beyond the questions of operability and surgical results.