Introduction
above-the-knee, TransAtlantic, PAD
PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE, PAD
The prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is on the rise, affecting over 202 million individuals worldwide [The TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus II (TASC) recommendations for the treatment of PAD in the femoropopliteal segment are well established in the vascular community. Where for TASC A and B lesions, an endovascular approach is recommended, for more challenging TASC C and D lesions, surgical bypass treatment is recommended [Earlier studies investigating the use of a drug-eluting ZILVER PTX stent (Cook Medical, Bloomington, IN, USA) in femoropopliteal TASC C and D lesions have shown good results. In a subgroup analysis of a prospective, multicenter study, a 12-month primary patency rate of 77.6% was observed when treating complex lesions with a mean lesion length of 226.10 mm [Based on these results, a randomized controlled trial was initiated to ascertain whether the ZILVER PTX paclitaxel-eluting stent demonstrated noninferiority to surgical above-the-knee prosthetic bypass in TASC C and D femoropopliteal lesions. Results at 12- and 36-months, along with an economic analysis, were previously published [