Purpose: The present study aims to (1) assess the technical success and limb salvage rates of endovascular therapy in patients with critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) and infra-popliteal Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) C/D lesions according to the updated 2015 TASC II classification and (2) to present our institutional experience.
Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted on patients with TASC C/D CLTI who underwent endovascular treatment between 2012 and 2017. The follow-up protocol consisted of Doppler ultrasound conduction every 3 months for the first year unless patients showed symptoms of CLTI. Patients with at least 1 year of follow-up data were included in the study, and if applicable their 3-year results were evaluated in terms of primary patency, absence of amputation, amputation-free survival, and overall survival.
Results: A total of 248 patients and 287 limbs (238 TASC D lesions and 49 TASC C lesions) were treated via infra-popliteal percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. The overall technical success was 87%, the primary patency rate was 41.5% in the first year, and the freedom from amputation rates were 80.8% in 1 year and 67.7% in 3 years.
Conclusion: In patients with infra-popliteal arterial occlusive diseases, endovascular treatment methods demonstrate a high rate of technical success and favorable outcomes in limb preservation.
Keywords: Percutaneous angioplasty; TASC; critical limb ischemia; infra-popliteal arteries.