ABSTRACT
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is an often unrecognized or untreated component of systemic atherosclerotic disease. The prevalence of PVD in the general population ranges from 1 to 6% with a significant increase in the prevalence in patients with established coronary artery disease. Revascularization of chronic total occlusions in the peripheral arteries has long been a subject of debate. The rationale for percutaneous treatment of peripheral arterial chronic total occlusions is to improve the lifestyle-limiting claudication and decrease the need for vascular bypass surgery. The LuMend Frontrunner cross chronic total occlusions (CTO) catheter is a bioptome-like device specifically designed to cross CTO in coronaries and has been approved for clinical use in coronary arteries only. Technologies such as excimer laser angioplasty, LuMend Frontrunner CTO catheter, and 'fiberoptic' guidewires with optical coherence reflectometry make it possible to successfully treat chronic occlusions percutaneously that were once treated by surgical means only. CTO of the peripheral vessels remain a therapeutic challenge.
