A catheter for balloon angioplasty includes a flexible shaft defining a hollow passage. The shaft has first and second ends. A core is movably and removably mounted in the passage and has first and second ends adjacent the first and second ends of the shaft. The core has a first flexible portion adjacent the first end and a second flexible portion of greater flexibility adjacent the second end. The core also has an enlarged terminal knob at the second end. A flexible guidewire may be fixed to the second end of one of the shaft and the core. The catheter may be inserted into a vascular tree and the core removed. The core may be replaced by an exchange wire, an angioscope, a laser fiber, or a rotatable bit. Also, when the core is replaced by an exchange wire, the shaft may then be removed and replaced by either a balloon angioplasty catheter or a perfusion catheter.
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