Sigala Fragiska, Kontis Elissaios, Hepp Wolfang, Filis Konstantinos, Melissas John, Mirilas Petros
Division of Vascular Surgery, 1st Department of Propaedeutic Surgery, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Vasc Endovascular Surg. 2012 Feb;46(2):123-30. doi: 10.1177/1538574411432161. Epub 2012 Feb 16.
We aimed to determine the long-term results after infrapopliteal PTA (primary patency, limb salvage, survival) and examine for association with risk factors (e.g. diabetes, infection, etc). We studied 268 patients with 282 critically ischemic limbs treated with PTA of at least one crural artery during a six-year period. Data included TASC II morphological classification of lesions and risk factors. Technical success rate was 97.2%, and overall mortality 0.7%. Patients with milder TASC lesions preserved primary patency longer than patients with more severe lesions. Similar results were obtained for limb salvage and survival. Fontaine stage, TASC class and postoperative infection of operated limb increased the risk for loss of primary patency and major amputation. Concomitant carotid stenosis was associated with loss of primary patency. Diabetes mellitus, preoperative ulcer or gangrene were associated with need of major amputation. PTA was a safe and effective treatment for CLI due to lesions of infrapopliteal vessels.
