Tibial intervention for critical limb ischemia.

Diagnosis and treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI) is increasingly important as the average age of the world population and the incidence of diabetes and metabolic syndrome increases. Fortunately, most patients will not progress to this stage of peripheral arterial disease, yet if left untreated, there is a high risk of future cardiovascular events. At the point of ischemic rest pain or tissue loss, there are significant implications for morbidity and mortality. There is a high prevalence of multisegment occlusive disease in the CLI patient with the infrapopliteal vessels frequently involved. Revascularization of the affected limb is of utmost importance as the prospects of wound healing and relief of ischemic rest pain are poor without reestablishing continuous flow to the distal extremity. With the advent of endovascular devices designed to treat this vexing problem, the ability to successfully treat this difficult patient population with less procedural morbidity has been greatly enhanced.