ABSTRACT
Introduction Angioplasty is the mechanical alteration of a narrowed or occluded vessel lumen. The word derives from the roots “angio” or vessel and “plasticos” or fit for molding. Nowadays it is used to describe a variety of percutaneous vascular interventions. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is used to describe angioplasty of vessels other than the coronary arteries. Charles Dotter, a vascular radiologist, introduced transluminal angioplasty in 1964. By using progressively increasing sizes of catheter he was able to dilate stenosed leg arteries. Andreas Gruentzig performed the first balloon angioplasty of a human peripheral artery in 1974.
