Retrograde distal superficial femoral artery approach in the supine position for chronic superficial femoral artery occlusion

Abstract

Subintimal angioplasty is an effective method for the treatment of long superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusions. One of the major limiting factors for the success of this procedure is the failure to re-enter the true lumen. The recently introduced luminal re-entry devices provide a high technical success rate, but failures can occur. In such cases, a retrograde popliteal approach can serve as a potential backup option. However, the need to reposition the patient remains a drawback. Here, we report a case of an 81-year-old male with a long SFA occlusion treated using a retrograde distal SFA approach in the supine position after the initial failure of antegrade angioplasty.