Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the technical feasibility and early outcomes of subintimal angioplasty to treat lower extremity arterial occlusions.
Methods: During a 2-year period (from December 2003 to December 2005), 36 lower extremities with arterial occlusions (median length, 11.5 cm; range, 4.5 to 28.0 cm) were treated on an intention-to-treat basis with SIA. Thirteen lower extremities had disabling claudication and twenty-three had limb-threatening ischemia.
Main outcome measures: technical success, cumulative patency, clinical results and complications.
Results: The technical success rate was 80% and four out of seven failures were treated by conventional surgery. After 13.2 months follow-up, recanalization vessel patency rate was 70%, and clinical effectiveness rate was 81%, no serious complications occurred.
Conclusion: In a selected group of patients, SIA is feasible with a high initial technical success rate and the short-term results are satisfied, SIA is a good treatment alternative in patients who are lower extremity arterial occlusions. The durability of this method of therapy is unknown, and our length of follow-up is not sufficient to answer this question.