METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DILATATION OF A STENOTIC VESSEL

摘要

An apparatus and method of operation are disclosed for using an expandable balloon catheter to perform a combination angioplasty and atherectomy procedure on a stenotic blood vessel. The expandable balloon has a plurality of atherotomes attached to its outer surface, and longitudinal, transverse, or rotational oscillatory motion is imparted to the atherotomes to assist in incising the stenotic tissue, prior to or during dilatation of the stenotic segment of the blood vessel.