Salvage of Critical Limb Ischemia with the “Trellis Reserve” of Subintimal Superficial Femoral-Popliteal Artery Occlusion: A New Modality in Managing Critical Limb Ischemia

Abstract

Subintimal angioplasty is a safe, effective, but nondurable procedure in treating long superficial femoral artery occlusions in patients with severe lower limb ischemia. The authors report a case of acute thrombosis that presented 16 weeks after subintimal angioplasty. The ;;Trellis'' percutaneous thrombolytic infusion system permitted a controlled site-specific infusion of recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rtPA). The unique design of the ;;Trellis'' allowed complete aspiration of thrombus and avoiding regional and systemic thrombolytic side effects. The ;;Trellis'' system is effective in percutaneous management of thrombotic lesions; however, intimal dissection may need to be addressed.