Transluminal angioplasty of isolated crural arterial lesions in diabetics with critical limb ischemia.

Background: We investigated the long-term clinical results of transluminal angioplasty of isolated infrapopliteal arteries in diabetic patients with severe ischaemic foot lesions and the influence of different parameters on primary success, the long-term outcome and the survival rate. Patients and methods: Between January 2001 and May 2004 we performed 50 transluminal angioplasties in 52 (10 female, 42 male, mean age 69.3 years) diabetics with isolated lesions of crural arteries (tibio-peroneal trunk 41, anterior tibial 13, posterior tibial 5, peroneal artery 14) and limb threatening ischaemia (rest pain 12, tissue loss 40). In two patients the dilatation could not be performed due to vessel perforation and impossibility to catheter localization. The morphological classification of infrapopliteal lesions was determined according to guidelines provided by TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) (17 type A, 16 type B, 13 type C, 4 type D). Results: Initial technical success after angioplasty of crural ...