Atherosclerotic rabbit iliac arteries: comparison of balloon angioplasty and laser-assisted balloon angioplasty.

The effects of balloon angioplasty (BA) and laser-assisted balloon angioplasty (LABA) on arteries were compared. Atherosclerosis was induced in the iliac arteries of New Zealand White rabbits by means of balloon denudation and a diet supplemented with 1% cholesterol and 3% peanut oil. Six weeks later, one iliac artery was dilated with a 2.5- or 3.0-mm-diameter balloon. The contralateral iliac artery was treated with a 1.5-mm-diameter laser probe heated with 6 W of argon laser energy, and then BA was performed. Four weeks later, the mean luminal diameter of the LABA-treated arteries was smaller than that of the BA-treated arteries (BA, 1.57 mm +/- 0.15; LABA, 0.82 mm +/- 0.19; P less than .01). This restenosis was due to greater intimal fibrocellular proliferation (intimal area: BA, 0.83 mm2 +/- 0.16; LABA, 1.41 mm2 +/- 0.26; P less than .05). The LABA-treated arteries produced less potassium chloride-induced maximal force (P less than .01) and had smaller incremental elastic moduli (P less than .05) than did the BA-treated arteries. LABA is not the treatment of choice for small-caliber arteries, in which thermal injury to the arterial wall would be significant.