The term "peripheral" artery refers to blood vessels that are not located on or directly serving the heart. These include most of the arteries of the body, including those of the neck, arms, and legs, as well as those serving other organs, such as the kidneys.
Balloon angioplasty is a catheter-based treatment used for re-opening obstructed and narrowed arteries at one or more of these sites. It is essentially the same type of procedure used for coronary artery balloon angioplasty, where a tiny, deflated balloon-tipped catheter is inserted through an artery to the site of a narrowing or obstruction. The physician uses a fluoroscopy screen to guide the balloon into the proper position, the balloon is inflated, compressing the plaque formations back into the vessel wall. The re-opened vessel is checked by injecting contrast dye into the treated vessel and viewing its passage through the treated area on the fluoroscopy screen.
