Radiology, Vol 149, 669-674, Copyright © 1983 by Radiological Society of North America
Digital subtraction angiography for examination of vessels of the leg: use of a 40-cm image intensifier
R Passariello, P Rossi, G Simonetti, P Tempesta, P Pavone, M Castrucci and K McBride
Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) using a 41-cm (16-in.) image
intensifier was performed in 144 patients with peripheral vascular
insufficiency. In most cases the entire peripheral vascular bed from the
renal arteries to the popliteal trifurcation was demonstrated with four
intravenous injections and four exposed fields: (a) aorto-iliac, (b)
ilio-femoral, (c) femoro-popliteal, and (d) popliteo-tibial. In 90% of
cases the procedure was diagnostic in all regions studied, while in 10 it
was nondiagnostic in one or more regions for various reasons (myocardial
insufficiency, inadequate contrast bolus, or technical failure). Most
failures involved the distal arteries. In spite of some limitations,
intravenous DSA using a large-field image intensifier may replace
conventional angiography in routine preoperative evaluation of peripheral
vascular disease, with intra-arterial injections being performed when the
intravenous technique is nondiagnostic.
