Intravascular ultrasonography, a new alternative for the assessment of vascular lesions.

Intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) was performed in ten patients undergoing a diagnostic or therapeutic angiography. The ultrasound probe was inserted in a 6 French catheter and introduced through a 7 or 8 French sheath. Exact information was yielded about the extent of arteriosclerosis, the stenotic process and the composition of the atheromatous plaque (soft plaque or presence of calcifications). In the patients undergoing a percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, the status after dilation was also assessed, and intimal tears and residual atheromatous plaques could well be evaluated.