Percutaneous transluminal dilatation. A realistic appraisal in patients with stenosing lesions of the renal artery.
The application of percutaneous transluminal dilatation in the management of patients with renal artery stenosis remains controversial today. Both advocates and detractors of this therapeutic maneuver can acknowledge reports of technical success with short-term follow-up and several instances of significant major complications. Very few firm conclusions can be drawn from the literature on percutaneous transluminal dilatation at the current time. To answer the many questions about this procedure, it is appropriate to encourage that carefully designed randomized protocols comparing surgical revascularization and percutaneous transluminal dilatation in patients with similar clinical and epidemiologic criteria be developed.