Endovascular techniques for limb salvage in diabetics with crural and pedal disease.

Diabetics with critical limb ischemia (CLI) usually have significant multilevel arterial disease, very often with compromised outflow on the foot arteries. The combination of severe peripheral arterial occlusion with the increased blood flow requirement, necessary to achieve the healing of the skin lesions or surgical incisions, makes this population particularly challenging. Additionally, diabetics and CLI patients have a high rate of comorbities, that increase the surgical risks or contraindicate surgical by-pass. Since its initial applications, endovascular recanalization for tibial vessels and foot arteries has proven to be feasible and safe, especially in diabetics with CLI. Actually, it is an established treatment option for limb salvage, avoiding amputation in lot of cases and improving lesions healing. The development of new technologies, such as dedicated guidewire's or low profile catheter balloons helps the interventionists, but the knowledge of most important techniques could be indispensable to obtain the procedural success and clinical outcomes.