Angioplasty can save legs and feet, study shows

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Non-surgical treatment to unblock clogged arteries in legs and feet can save them from being amputated, even though those blood vessels are small and tricky to work in, researchers reported on Monday.

Dr. Nael Saad and colleagues at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York reported a 91 percent success rate in preventing amputations after 18 months.

The procedure is called angioplasty, in which the clogged artery is stretched open using a tube inserted via a very small incision and a metal mesh tube called a stent to hold the blood vessel open.

"This study shows that with angioplasty and stenting, we can restore blood flow through the smallest vessels in the legs and keep them open long-term, saving these patients from life-altering amputation," Saad said in a statement.

The 47 patients all had peripheral arterial disease caused by atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. It affects 12 to 20 percent of Americans aged 65 or older, or about 10 million Americans.

It can be caused by smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity and often the only treatment is bypass surgery, in which a vein is grafted to go around the clog and get blood flowing again to the affected area.

Saad told a meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology that his treatment, using a catheter inserted through the femoral artery in the groin, required a tiny opening the size of a pencil tip.