Medium-term results of stenting with Hunter's canal fasciotomy for long femoropopliteal occlusions.

Background: The present study investigates the hypothesis that fasciotomy of the Hunter's canal increases the mobility of the superficial femoral artery and reduces the risk of stent fracture. The objective of this study was to compare the long-term success of drug-eluting nitinol stents with and without a fasciotomy for patients with total femoropopliteal occlusion. The hypothesis is that fasciotomy of Hunter's canal can increase the mobility of the superficial femoral artery and reduce the incidence of stent breakage. The objective of this study was to compare the long-term patency of drug-eluting nitinol stents with and without fasciotomy in patients with total femoropopliteal occlusions.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted in patients with femoral-popliteal stenococclusive lesions longer than 200 mm. Patients in group 1 (Zilver) underwent recanalization of the femoropopliteal artery occlusion with stenting. In the second group (ZilverFas), recanalization of the femoropopliteal occlusion with stenting and fasciotomy of Hunter's canal was performed. The follow-up evaluation of patency was conducted at 24 months.

Results: The present study involved a total of 60 subjects. The primary patency at 24 months was 33% and 60% in the Zilver and ZilverFas groups, respectively (P=0.03). The freedom from target revascularization (TLR) in the Zilver and ZilverFas groups was 40% and 64%, respectively (P=0.1). The primary assisted patency at 24 months was 46.7% in the Zilver group versus 66.5% in the ZilverFas group (log-rank P=0.14) versus 46.7% in the Zilver group (log-rank P=0.14), while the 2-year secondary patency was 53.3% in the Zilver group compared to 69% in the ZilverFas group (log-rank P=0.24) compared to 53.3% in the Zilver group (log-rank P=0.24). In the Zilver and ZilverFas groups, the number of patients with stent failures was 14 and 7, respectively (P=0.05). In the Zilver and ZilverFas groups, the number of stents that fractured was 14 and 7, respectively (P=0.05). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that fasciotomy significantly reduced the risk of reocclusion and restenosis by 2.1 times.

Conclusions: The present study has demonstrated that decompression of the stented segment of the superficial femoral artery (SFA) with fasciotomy leads to a significant improvement in patency of the femoropopliteal segment and a substantial reduction in the number and severity of stent fractures.