Endovascular gamma irradiation of the iliac arteries: 1-year results from a clinical safety and feasibility study.

PURPOSE To estimate safety and feasibility of vascular brachytherapy in iliac arteries. METHODS Fourteen patients (11 men; mean age 56.7+/-9.9 years, range 44-81) with occlusive disease in 15 iliac arteries (7 external, 8 common) were treated with balloon dilation followed by irradiation from an iridium 192 source (15 Gy at 3 mm from the inner surface of the artery wall) applied with a PARIS centering catheter and bilateral 10-mm margins. Patients receiving stents for suboptimal angioplasty were prescribed a 6-month course of antiplatelet treatment with ticlopidine. Angiography was routinely scheduled for 6 months after intervention. RESULTS There were no complications of the angioplasty procedure or EVBT treatment; 7 patients received stents for dissection or residual stenosis. Mean follow-up was 12.4+/-6.0 months. At 6-month angiography, 1 (6.7%) restenosis in a common iliac artery stent was found. Another patient with a common iliac artery stent developed transient lower limb ischemia at 4 months, probably due to temporary suspension of antiplatelet treatment and distal disease. CONCLUSIONS Brachytherapy in the iliac arteries appears to be feasible and safe; longer follow-up in more patients is needed to determine its clinical utility in the prevention of restenosis.