[Application of auto-expansible endoprostheses to arteries of the legs]

An endovascular support inserted percutaneously, may represent an attractive solution to prevent early obstructions and recurrent stenoses after angioplasty (ATP). 23 iliac lesions and 40 femoro-popliteal lesions, symptomatic in 55 patients, were treated with endoprostheses of the Wallstent type. For the iliac implantations, it concerned in one case a recurrence after endarterectomy, 13 cases of recurrent stenoses after ATP and 9 cases of immediate failure of the angioplasty. The mean length of the lesions under treatment was 8 cm (extreme values between 4 and 14 cm). For the femoro-opoliteal arteries, the implants concerned lesions ranging between 3 and 7 cm, in 75 p. cent of the cases, and lesions exceeding 7 cm in 25 p. cent of the cases. Three iliac thromboses and six femoro-popliteal thromboses were reported at the beginning of this study; on the contrary, no thrombosis is present in the last 18 patients treated with oral anticoagulants. The rate of recurrent stenosis is low (none at the iliac level and 10 p. cent at the femoro-popliteal level); in all other cases an excellent clinical result was obtained with a mean follow-up of 18 months.