CHRONIC CRITICAL LOWER-LIMB ISCHEMIA - PROSPECTIVE TRIAL OF ANGIOPLASTY WITH 1-36 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP

To determine the utility of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA ) in the treatment of chronic critical lower-limb ischemia, a prospect ive study of 103 consecutive patients (117 limbs) was performed. Patie nts underwent PTA for a total of 209 lesions in the iliac (n = 4), fem oropopliteal (n = 121), and infrapopliteal (n = 84) arteries and were followed up for 1-36 months (mean, 12 months). The primary technical s uccess rate was 92% for stenosis and 80% for occlusion. Survival analy sis with the Kaplan-Meier method revealed 1-, 2-, and 3-year limb salv age rates of 56%, 49%, and 49%, respectively. The following factors co rrelated favorably with limb salvage in Cox multiple regression analys es: a small number of diseased lower-limb vessels (one to five vs six to eight) and treated lesions per limb (one or two vs three to five), achieved peripheral runoff (one to three patent calf vessels vs none), and an occlusion as the successfully treated target lesion (instead o f stenosis).