Preliminary results after application of absorbable metal stents in patients with critical limb ischemia.

Purpose: To report the preliminary 3-month follow-up of a recently developed absorbable metal stent (AMS) for treatment of infrapopliteal lesions in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI).

Methods: Between December 2003 and January 2004, 20 patients (10 men; mean age 76 years, range 59-96) with symptomatic critical limb ischemia (CLI) due to high-grade (80% to 100%) infrapopliteal stenoses received 1 or 2 AMS devices for suboptimal angioplasty. Clinical examination and color-flow duplex imaging were performed in all patients at discharge and at 1 and 3 months.