Balloon catheter requirements during contemporary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

In order to examine the outcome of utilizing multiple balloon catheters during the percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), 300 consecutive PTCAs were analyzed. PTCA was performed in a single lesion in 163 patients (54%), in multiple lesions in 52 patients (18%), and in multiple vessels in 85 patients (28%). A total of 488 balloon catheters were used (1.6/case, range 1-9) and in 112 cases (37%) > or = 2 catheters were used. Multiple balloon catheters were needed in 27 single lesion (17%), 24 multilesion (48%), and 61 multivessel (72%) cases (p < .05). There was no difference in the angiographic success rate in cases completed with 1 balloon catheter (238/251, 95%) compared to those requiring > or = 2 catheters (260/274, 95%). Emergency bypass was required in 5 patients (1.7%) and there were 2 deaths (0.6%). Thus, although contemporary PTCA frequently requires multiple balloon catheters for completion, success rates remain high and appear to offset the increased procedural expenses.