Balloon angioplasty in tibioperoneal interventions for patients with critical limb ischemia

Tibial arterial disease represents the final frontier in the battle against critical limb ischemia (CLI). Isolated infrapopliteal (IP) disease is mainly seen in the elderly (>80 years old), diabetic, and dialysis-dependent patients with CLI. With the development and evolution of catheter-based technology, endovascular therapy (mainly balloon angioplasty) has become the method of choice for revascularization in these patients. The most common challenges are the severely calcified lesion recalcitrant to dilation (as calcium is heterogeneously distributed in the arterial wall) and the long tibial chronic total occlusions. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty achieves a technically successful result (<30% residual stenosis) in most cases, but it is limited by high restenosis rates. Although several devices have been used in the IP arena (including orbital and directional atherectomy, laser atherectomy, "contact" atherectomy [CROSSER, Bard], and re-entry devices), percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with plain old balloons has been the subject of most studies with several modified iterations, that is, cryoplasty, cutting balloons, focal force balloons, nitinol-"cage"-constrained balloons, tapered balloons, and most recently drug-coated balloons. In this article, we share our current approach to endovascular IP endovascular interventions. We cover the spectrum from pathophysiology, clinical indications, equipment choices, and procedural steps used in our laboratory when treating patients with CLI (which is synonymous with complex anatomy). Regarding what represents the "gold standard" for the treatment of IP disease, a definite answer is currently not available, as multiple studies looking at new generation drug-coated balloons used alone or in combination with different forms of atherectomy are currently under way. We anxiously wait for these results and in the meantime continue to design newer approaches.