Treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) with conventional percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) causes significant recurrent neointimal tissue growth in 30-85%. Therefore, laser ablation of intrastent neointimal hyperplasia before balloon dilation can be an attractive alternative. However, the long-term outcomes of such treatment have not been studied thoroughly enough. This prospective case-control study evaluated angiographic and clinical outcomes of PTCA alone and a combination of excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) and adjunct PTCA in 125 patients with ISR.

Published in the Angiology 2006 Jan-Feb;57(1):21-32.

PubMed abstract

Neointimal hyperplasia (NIH), a result of vascular injury, is due to the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells through the media and internal elastic lamina leading to vascular occlusion. We utilized a rat model to find the genetic regions controlling NIH after endothelial denudation in two divergent inbred strains of rats.

Abstract