ABSTRACT
Introduction The vast majority of clinically significant vascular disease is the result of atherosclerotic disease and it is for this process that nearly all of the interventional devices available today are designed. Patients with non-atherosclerotic disease generally fall into a category that represents a variety of either congenital or inflammatory conditions that affect blood vessels and a variety of other tissues. The distinction of these syndromes is often difficult and their characterization and treatment are constantly changing. Unlike patients with atherosclerotic disease, these patients are often younger and suffer from a variety of other lesions resulting from their primary diagnosis. These lesions often occur in locations atypical for atherosclerotic lesions and with a different morphologic appearance on angiography. Vascular reconstruction, be it open or endovascular, is performed only when clinical circumstances demand it and when coordinated with the medical therapies that represent the mainstay of treatment for most of these conditions. For the conditions that are inflammatory in nature, vascular intervention is best pursued when the inflammatory process is quiescent and care must be taken to preserve future pathways for open or endovascular construction in this often younger population.
