Endovascular therapy of lower extremity arterial occlusive disease: are advanced generation devices worth the cost?

Abstract

Endovascular recanalization has a relatively small but important role in the treatment of arterial occlusive disease. The balloon angioplasty catheter remains the most versatile and successful tool for transluminal therapy. A multitude of advanced generation devices have been developed in recent years; of these, intravascular stents are gradually emerging as most useful and capable of enhancing the results of angioplasty in selected instances.