Endovascular treatment of acute limb ischemia and proximal deep vein thrombosis using rotational thrombectomy: A review of published literature

Acute and subacute ischemia of the lower extremity is still a common reason for amputation. The treatment of this condition includes the well known procedure of local thrombolysis, surgical thrombectomy and, in recent times, percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy procedures such as rotational thrombectomy. However, in randomized studies Fogarty's procedure of surgical thrombectomy was associated with a high rate of perioperative complications and, in part, low technical success rates. On the other hand, local thrombolysis is associated with hemorrhage as well as high costs because of measures requiring substantial resources, such as intensive care monitoring or repeat angiographies. In several studies, the endovascular therapy options of Straub Rotarex® and Aspirex® systems, both products of technical advancements in the field, were shown to be successful in terms of amputation-free survival. Their use was also associated with low complication rates. The majority of studies were focused on arterial blood flow in the femur. However, in the meantime several registers and studies have shown that the systems can also be effectively used to treat proximal deep vein thrombosis. In the present report we review the current study-based value of rotational thrombectomy in the venous and arterial system.