Peripheral Angiography and angioplasty

 

Angioplasty is a procedure to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels that supply blood to your legs. It is also called peripheral angiography. A peripheral angiography is a test that uses X-rays and dye to help doctors to locate narrowed or blocked areas in one or more of the arteries that supply blood to your legs. In case of a narrowed artery, it can be treated with balloon angioplasty and/or stenting. 

To treat blockage in your leg, angioplasty can be performed in the following:

• Aorta, the main artery that comes from your heart

• Artery in your hips and pelvis

• Artery in your thigh

• Artery behind your knee

• Artery in your lower leg

How Is a Peripheral Angiogram Performed?

A thin flexible tube (catheter) is inserted through an artery in your groin (femoral artery), wrist (radial artery) or arm (brachial artery). To make the arteries visible on x-ray, dye is injected through the tube into the target arteries. An x-ray camera films the arteries as they pump blood. These x-ray images can be viewed right away so treatment decisions can be made quickly.

Why this surgery?

Angioplasty is a good option for you if you have symptoms that keep you from doing daily tasks, if your symptoms do not get better with other medical treatment, if you have skin ulcers or wounds on the leg that are not getting healed.

It is also helpful if you have an infection or gangrene on the leg and if you have pain caused by narrowed arteries, even when you are resting. 

Angioplasty improves artery blood flow for most people. Results may vary, depending on the location of the blockage, the size of your blood vessels and how much blockage there is in other arteries. 

This procedure also decreases the probability of having to use bypass surgery.

other symptoms

• Pain in your legs or arms

• Shiny skin on your legs or feet

• Hair loss on your legs

• Cold skin

• Gangrene, or dead tissue because of lack of blood flow

• Sores that won’t heal

• Numbness or weakness in your limbs

• Pain at rest

• Reddish-blue colour in your extremities

• Thick, opaque toenails

• Trouble moving around

• Weak pulse in your leg or foot

 Things that increase the risk of peripheral artery disease include:

• Bruising, bleeding or tenderness at the area the artery was entered.

• Injury or damage to an artery caused by the thin tube (catheter) that’s inserted into your artery during the test.

• Blood clot at the location of the needle puncture.

• Some people may have allergic reactions to the dye used in the test.

• A family history of peripheral artery disease, heart disease or stroke.

• High blood pressure.

• High cholesterol.

• High levels of an amino acid called homocysteine, increase the risk for coronary artery disease.

• Increasing age.

• Obesity.

What are some possible complications after procedure?

If there is swelling or bleeding from the angiogram site, or if the extremity becomes cold, pale, or numb following discharge, you must immediately contact your physician. The risks of peripheral angiogram include the possibility of a blood clot forming that causes a stroke or heart attack, bleeding, damage or obstruction of a blood vessel, or even death. However, in medically stable patients undergoing elective peripheral angiogram for the evaluation of peripheral artery disease, the risk of a potentially fatal result is less than 1 in 500 cases.

Accounting for thorough experience and practice, Dr. Aritra Konar is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkata. He has been deemed one of the best cardiologists in Kolkata for his expertise lies in Coronary (femoral & radial routes) angiography, Coronary angioplasty (including primary angioplasty), Peripheral angiography and angioplasty, Permanent pacemaker, ICD, CRT implantation, BMV, BPV, Right heart catheterization and so on, in procedural skills. His guidance is trusted and so are his skills.