title: Endovascular Versus Open Revascularization for Peripheral Arterial Disease.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine whether endovascular or open revascularization provides an advantageous approach to symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) over the longer term.
  
  
  
  The optimal revascularization strategy for symptomatic lower extremity PAD is not established.
  
  
  
  We evaluated amputation-free survival, overall survival, and relative rate of subsequent vascular intervention after endovascular or open lower extremity revascularization for propensity-score matched cohorts of Medicare beneficiaries with PAD from 2006 through 2009.
  
  
  
  Among 14,685 eligible patients, 5928 endovascular and 5928 open revascularization patients were included in matched analysis. Patients undergoing endovascular repair had improved amputation-free survival compared with open repair at 30 days (7.4 vs 8.9%, P = 0.002). This benefit persisted over the long term: At 4 years, 49% of endovascular patients had died or received major amputation compared with 54% of open patients (P < 0.001). An endovascular procedure was associated with a risk-adjusted 16% decreased risk of amputation or death compared with open over the study period (hazard ratio: 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.89; P < 0.001). The amputation-free survival benefit associated with an endovascular revascularization was more pronounced in patients with congestive heart failure or ischemic heart disease than in those without (P = 0.021 for interaction term). The rate of subsequent intervention at 30 days was 7.4% greater for the endovascular vs the open revascularization cohort. At 4 years, this difference remained stable at 8.6%.
  
  
  
  Using population-based data, we demonstrate that an endovascular approach is associated with improved amputation-free survival over the long term with only a modest relative increased risk of subsequent intervention.
authors.affiliation: *Wisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program (WiSOR), Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, WI †Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, WI ‡Departments of Population Health Sciences and Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI.
authors.forename: Jason T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wiseman
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernandes-Taylor
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Havlena
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Rathouz
authors.forename: Maureen A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: K Craig
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Kent
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057510:Endovascular Procedures; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D057216:Propensity Score; D012086:Reoperation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome