Subintimal angioplasty in lower limb ischaemia

Subintimal angioplasty has been suggested as a treatment option for occlusive disease and has become an established practice in some centres, reducing their operative workload considerably. Others have concerns about the safety and durability of the procedure. This review will focus on the evidence for the use of subintimal angioplasty in lower limb occlusive disease. A systematic review of the literature from a Medline search has been carried out. Despite a paucity of trial data, subintimal angioplasty is now an established technique for the treatment of lower limb occlusive disease. The results for femoro-popliteal disease are well documented, with excellent technical and clinical success rates and low complication rates. The results for iliac disease are less well documented and demand caution. For infra-popliteal disease with critical ischaemia, the technique is again safe with good short and long-term results in a group of patients in whom distal bypass surgery is often risky. Subintimal angioplasty has a definite learning curve and those wishing to take it up should visit an experienced centre first. To achieve widespread acceptance it is likely to require large scale randomised controlled trials.