Repeat BTK revascularization: when, how and what are the results?

INTRODUCTION

Owing to the ageing of the population and rising rates of diabetes, more patients suffering from chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI) need revascularization for often complex, multilevel peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Below the knee (BTK) lesions are common in CLTI and short-term outcomes of BTK endovascular revascularizations have improved substantially over the last decade as a consequence of improved techniques and dedicated low profile devices.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

The manuscript summarized the information identified through a limited literature review conducted on key resources including MEDLINE and EMBASE databases as well as conference proceedings. The keywords were "angioplasty," "endovascular intervention," "infrapopliteal," "tibial arteries" and "below the knee." The search was limited to contemporary English-language documents published between 2000 and 2020.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

Rates of re-stenosis and re-occlusion are high after infrapopliteal interventions limiting long-term success and necessitating frequent repeat procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

In this article we aimed to summarize current knowledge regarding the need, options and outcome of repeat BTK interventions through a limited literature review and presentation of own data.