ABSTRACT
The number of patients who have peripheral diseases is steadily increasing worldwide, primarily as a result of the aging of the population. Lammer et al reported a study of 127 patients treated for symptomatic peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Endoluminal stent-grafts and covered stents are being investigated for treatment of both aneurysmal and occlusive peripheral arterial diseases. The stent-graft is presented in a compressed form in a loading cartridge. Stent-grafts range from 5 to 12 mm in diameter and from 3 to 10 cm in length. They are delivered through 50 cm long introducer sheaths ranging in diameter from 7F to 10F, depending on the size of the stent-graft to be implanted. The stent-graft is positioned fluoroscopically across the treated segment. Once the stent-graft is in position, the sheath is withdrawn, and an internal positioning catheter is used to fix the stent-graft in place. The stent-graft expands using the thermal memory characteristics of its nitinol frame.
