Drug Eluting Stents In The Critically Ischemic Lower Leg

Inclusion criteria

• Stenotic (> 50%) or occlusive atherosclerotic disease of the infrapopliteal arteries
• A maximum of two focal target lesions in one or more infrapopliteal vessels
• Length of lesion is maximally 40 mm, allowing maximally 2 stents to be implanted
• Reference vessel diameter should be 2-3.5 mm
• Symptomatic critical limb ischemia (Rutherford 4, 5)
• The patient must be > 18 years of age
• Life-expectancy of more than 12 months
• The patient has no child bearing potential or negative serum pregnancy test within 7 days of the index procedure
• The patient must be willing and able to return to the appropriate follow-up times for the duration of the study
• The patient must provide written patient informed consent that is approved by the ethics committee

Exclusion criteria

• Patient refusing treatment
• The reference segment diameter is not suitable for available stent design.
• Unsuccessfully treated (>30% residual stenosis) proximal inflow limiting arterial stenosis
• Untreatable lesion located at the distal outflow arteries
• More than two infrapopliteal lesions in the same limb
• Previously implanted stent(s) or PTA at the same lesion site
• Lesion location requiring kissing stent procedure
• Lesion lies within or adjacent to an aneurysm
• Inflow-limiting arterial lesions left untreated
• The patient has a known allergy to heparin, Aspirin or other anticoagulant/anti-platelet therapies or a bleeding diatheses or is unable, or unwilling, to tolerate such therapies.
• The patient takes Phenprocoumon (Marcumar).
• The patient has a history of prior life-threatening contrast media reaction.
• The patient is currently enrolled in another investigational device or drug trial.
• The patient is currently breast-feeding, pregnant or intends to become pregnant.
• The patient is mentally ill or retarded.
• Subject has received a heart transplant or any other organ transplant or is on a waiting list for any organ transplant
• Subject is receiving or scheduled to receive anticancer therapy for malignancy within 30 days prior to or after the procedure
• Subject is receiving immunosuppression therapy, or has known serious immunosuppressive disease (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus), or has severe autoimmune disease that requires chronic immunosuppressive therapy (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.) The patient should also not receive inhibitors of CYP3A (such as Itraconazole, and Erythromycin), or inducers of CYP3A (such as Rifampin) within 90 days following the procedure.
• Subject is receiving or is scheduled to receive chronic anticoagulation therapy (e.g., heparin, coumadin)
• Use of alternative therapy (e.g. atherectomy, cutting balloon, laser, radiation therapy) as part of the index procedure