Are We Misrepresenting Superficial Femoral Artery Stenting? High Rates of Restenosis and Limb Loss Are Seen With Long-term Follow-up

Superficial femoral artery (SFA) stents and femoral-popliteal bypasses are frequently performed for lower extremity (LE) revascularization in limb salvage. Current guidelines emphasize an endovascular-first approach to limb salvage in patients with femoral-popliteal occlusive disease with nonhealing wounds. SFA stenting has been used with increasing frequency, based on promising reports of improved patency and decreased target vessel revascularization as compared with angioplasty alone. However, many of these reports describe limb salvage rates among patients without significant tissue loss.