Below-knee Bare Nitinol Stent Placement in High-risk Patients with Critical Limb Ischaemia and Unlimited Supragenicular Inflow as Treatment of Choice

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Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of nitinol stent placement in long infrapopliteal lesions in patients with critical limb ischaemia. Materials and methods: Between January 2005 and January 2008, 34 high-risk patients (18 female; mean age: 73.8 ± 6.1 years) with critical limb ischaemia underwent infragenicular stenting. They had serious cardiovascular co-morbidities (>3, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure and coronary artery occlusive disease), American Society of Anaesthesiologists score of 3 or more, previous myocardial infarction, coronary stent or bypass. The mean stenosis length was 6.5 ± 0.9 cm (range: 2.2–8 cm), and the mean occlusion length was 7.5 ± 2.9 cm (range: 3–9.6 cm). Primary stent implantation was performed for long stenosis or occlusion based on the TransAtlantic InterSociety Consensus (TASC) C and D classification, secondary stenting for flow-limiting dissections or elastic recoil after balloon dilatation. All patients who returned to the outpatient clinic were assessed for claudication by clinical examination, ankle–brachial index (ABI) measurements, colour flow and duplex Doppler ultrasound (US). Digital subtraction angiography was performed if restenosis or re-occlusion was identified by Doppler US or transcutaneous measurement of partial oxygen pressure (TcpO2) measurements, when appropriate. Results: The technical success rate was 97.1% (33 of 34 cases). The crude rate of primary patency rate was 91.1% during a follow-up period of 10.4 ± 7.3 months. The mean ankle–brachial index increased significantly following intervention (0.45 ± 0.25–0.92 ± 0.13, p < 0.001). Two patients underwent successful redo angioplasty after tibioperoneal interventions due to in-stent restenosis (>70%) with relevant limitation of pain-free walking distance. In another patient, bypass surgery to the anterior tibial artery 6 months after primary intervention was necessary due to rest pain. Two patients required surgical revision of the femoral artery after antegrade access. No procedure-related death was recorded in the entire follow-up period. Conclusions: The mid-term outcome underscores infrapopliteal stent placement as a reliable treatment option in patients with critical limb ischaemia. In patients at high risk for crural bypass, with no flow-limiting supragenicular lesions, below-knee stent-supported angioplasty should be considered as a first choice of treatment.