Treatment of peripheral vascular disease with stent-grafts

EXPANDABLE metallic stents are now commonly used to treat peripheral vascular disease. Endoluminal stents have demonstrated utility in preventing recoil after angioplasty and in reducing restenosis in certain vascular beds. Just as stent placement represented an evolutionary step up from the interventional technology of balloon angioplasty, stent-grafts now are bridging the fields of vascular surgery and interventional radiology. The use of metallic expandable stents to anchor traditional surgical bypass grafts in an endoluminal location has created an opportunity to treat both vascular occlusive disease and aneurysmal disease in a less invasive, interventional fashion. This article outlines the progress made in the development and implementation of endovascular stent-grafts for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.