Drug-eluting stents for infrapopliteal arterial disease in the setting of critical limb ischemia

Peripheral artery disease is increasingly prevalent with disease presentations ranging from the asymptomatic patient to the patient with an ischemic or threatened lower extremity. The role of the vascular specialist treating the peripheral artery disease patient is to create or maintain straight-line or uninterrupted blood flow to the extremities in order to preserve patient mobility and the ability of the leg to heal in the setting of trauma or infection. Although autologous-vein surgical bypass grafting has long been viewed as the first-line treatment, endovascular approaches have become increasingly popular owing to technological advances, including the advent of drug-eluting stents. The angiographic and clinical results including symptom improvement, wound healing, limb salvage rates, cost considerations and current ongoing clinical research will be discussed.