Aim: Should the sizes of balloons and stents used in the pelvic circulation be determined by the size of the ipsilateral or contralateral vessel?
Study design: The angiographic findings in 31 patients were analysed; in 10 an occlusion and in 21 a high grade stenosis (greater than 75%) of the common iliac artery had been treated by stenting (26) or simple PTA (5).
Results: In 26 of the 31 patients there was marked reduction in the lumen distal to the lesion up to 40%. In 17 patients this was reversed immediately after the procedure and in five others the lumen increased but a difference between the two sides remained. The changes on the two sides following treatment were statistically significant (external iliac artery: p = 0.00013).
Conclusion: The results indicate that the "normal" contralateral measurements should be used rather than the distal ipsilateral vessel diameter.