Preliminary Experience with the Xtrak Debulking Device in the Treatment of Peripheral Occlusions

Purpose:To report our initial experience with a new rotary debulking device designed for treating long, diffusely diseased arterial segments.Methods:Ten symptomatic patients (8 men; mean age 63 years, range 34–76) with occluded superficial femoral (n = 6) or popliteal (n = 4) arteries were enrolled into a study to evaluate the debulking capabilities of a rotational atherectomy device. Occlusion length ranged from 4.0 to 16.1 cm (mean 11.1 ± 4.10). The occlusions were treated with a low-speed, over-the-wire rotary device featuring a flexible, spiral “corkscrew” that embeds itself in the obstructive material while a rotary cutting catheter simultaneously cuts and captures the obstruction in a single pass.Results:The device cut and retrieved material in a single pass from all segments without device-related complications. The captured material consisted of a mixture of atherosclerotic plaque and thrombus. Minimum lumen diameters (MLD) increased from 0.0 to 2.2 ± 1.09 mm (p<0.05) after Xtrak treatment and to ...