Update on the TURBO BOOSTER spectranetics laser for lower extremity occlusive disease

In the last two decades the endovascular treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) has gained a widespread and predominant role. New technologies have developed in the last years as atherectomy devices, self expandible nitinol stents, drug eluting devices (stent and balloons), absorbable stents. In recent years, growing interest has been dedicated to laser technology due to device improvements and literature data reporting safety and efficacy of excimer laser. The role of this new endovascular technique for the treatment of atherosclerotic arterial diseases should be considered with regard to two fields of interest: the claudicatio intermittens (CI) and the critical limb ischemia (CLI). A 20-year history with medical lasers has proven that not all lasers are equal. Lasers used and studied in the late 1980s and 1990s had poor outcomes due to inappropriate laser selection and undefined laser techniques. Over the last 10 years, multicenter studies with the excimer laser confirm that case selection, appropriate utilization of equipment, application of safe lasing techniques, and knowledge of indications and contraindications, all contribute to the successful application of laser-assisted angioplasty in complex coronary and peripheral artery disease. If applied properly, the Excimer Laser is a useful technique to transform complex obstructive arterial disease into more treatable lesions, improving the results of endovascular treatment and lowering the threshold of intervention for ''untreatable'' patients. New larger studies are requested to assess the definitive role of this technique in PAD treatment and limb salvage. This review will discuss the Laser Phisics and application in PAD along with the clinical data available to support the Excimer Laser as a reliable technology for endovascular intervention.