Treatment of chronic occlusions of the iliac or femoropopliteal arteries with mechanical rotational catheters.

PURPOSE: The main problem with treating chronic lesions with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) or stent implantation is the relatively high restenosis rate. The objective of this prospective single-center study was to evaluate a mechanical rotational catheter (Straub Rotarex®) for its safety and efficacy in the treatment of chronic vascular occlusions.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 40 patients with a mean age of 67.3 ± 7.6 years (51 - 86) treated by means of the Rotarex® catheter. All patients had chronic occlusions (> 6 months) of the iliac (n = 4) or femoropopliteal arteries (n = 36). The preinterventional Rutherford stage was on average 3.15 (2 - 5). The mean lesion length was 12.3 cm (2 - 24 cm). The ankle-brachial index (ABI) was determined prior to and after the intervention, as well as after 12 months. An additional follow-up was performed using color-coded duplex sonography.
RESULTS: The technical success rate was 100 %. In 27 patients (67.5 %), adjunctive balloon dilation was performed, and 7 (17.5 %) patients required a stent implantation. Clinically, there was an increase in the ankle-brachial index from 0.57 ± 0.15 to 0.82 ± 0.16 post-interventionally. After 12 months, it was 0.80 ± 0.12, and the average Rutherford stage fell to 1.65 (1 - 3). During the follow-up observation period, there were 9 (22.5 %) restenoses. Two dissections after balloon dilatation were recorded as peri-interventional complications. No distal embolizations were observed. There were no amputations or deaths during the entire period of the study.
CONCLUSION: The atherectomy of lesions of the iliac and femoropopliteal arteries using the Rotarex® system is safe and effective. The low rate of peri-interventional stenting and the low rate of restenosis at 12 months appear to be promising. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.