Mid-term outcome after endovascular therapy in the superficial femoral and popliteal artery using long stents.

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affecting the femoropopliteal artery is treated by endovascular interventions [2, 5, 13] increasingly. Aim of the study was to evaluate mid-term efficacy and patency of long stents in the superficial femoral and popliteal artery.

Patients And Methods: Between September 2006 and September 2007 103 patients received 128 stents for endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal vascular stenosis or occlusion. Clinical and hemodynamic parameters were collected. Risk factors, popliteal involvement and TASC classification, were documented and evaluated.

Results: Immediate outcome was satisfactory with a technical success rate of 100 %. After a mean follow-up period of 21 months, primary patency was 83.6 %. Potential risk factor analysis for restenosis and fracture demonstrated hypertension to have borderline significance (P = 0.06). In normotensive patients no restenosis occurred. Further pre-conditions, e.g. smoking, metabolic syndrome, age, gender and previous intervention did not show any influence on restenosis or stent fracture. TASC C and D lesion had similar patency rates compared to TASC A and B lesions. Most of the restenoses (13 out of 16) were observed within the first six months of follow-up. Six stent fracture were observed (4.7 %).

Conclusions: Long stents had convincing results after endovascular treatment of the femoropopliteal PAD. The used stent was an efficacious endovascular tool for long athersclerotic lesions in the superficial femoral and popliteal artery. Fracture rate was low with an incidence of 4.7 %. Most restenoses occurred within the first six months so that careful follow-up would be necessary.