A prospective randomized multicenter comparison of balloon angioplasty and infrapopliteal stenting with the sirolimus-eluting stent in patients with ischemic peripheral arterial disease: 1-year results from the ACHILLES trial.

Objectives: The study investigated the efficacy and safety of a balloon expandable, sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) in patients with symptomatic infrapopliteal arterial disease.

Background: Results of infrapopliteal interventions using balloon angioplasty and/or bare stents are limited by a relatively high restenosis rate, which could be potentially improved by stabilizing the lesion with a SES.

Methods: Two hundred patients (total lesion length 27 ± 21 mm) were randomized to infrapopliteal SES stenting or percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty (PTA).

Randomized trial of the SMART stent versus balloon angioplasty in long superficial femoral artery lesions: the SUPER study.

Purpose: To determine whether primary stenting reduces the rate of restenosis compared with balloon angioplasty alone in the endovascular treatment of long superficial femoral artery lesions; and to assess the effect of treatment on quality of life.

Methods: A total of 150 patients with superior femoral artery occlusion or severe stenosis of 5-22 cm length from 17 UK centers were randomized to either primary stenting with the SMART stent or balloon angioplasty (i.e.