Important Role of Endovascular Therapy and Wound Healing for Critical Limb Ischemia

Abstract

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is the most advanced stage of peripheral vascular disease, and endovascular therapy (EVT) for CLI is challenging. However, numerous CLI patients have a severe background and no distal artery to connect the bypass, and so EVT is an important strategy of revascularization for CLI. The final goal of the treatment of CLI is not obtaining long-term treated vessel patency but achieving wound healing and improvement of quality of life. Although wound healing is an essential endpoint, it has not been so stressed as other endpoints such as amputation free survival, limb salvage, and major adverse limb events. In this article, we discuss actual EVT treatment for CLI in daily practice and the important role of wound healing to improve patients’ clinical outcomes.