Leg-saving vein bypass shows promise for worst-case artery disease
NCT ID NCT03321552
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a new procedure called percutaneous deep vein arterialization in 34 people with critical limb ischemia, a severe form of blocked leg arteries. The procedure uses a device to create a bypass using a vein, aiming to improve blood flow and prevent amputation. The main goal was to see if it could help people avoid death or major amputation.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- LimFlow System (a device to create an arterio-venous fistula in the leg)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a way to save the leg from amputation in people with severe blocked leg arteries who have no other options.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early study with only 34 people, so results may not apply to everyone. The procedure carries risks like infection, bleeding, or the fistula not staying open.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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34 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2017
- Finished
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Jan 2025
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 to 95 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Subject must be \> 21 and \< 95 years of age * Clinical diagnosis of symptomatic critical limb ischemia, defined as Rutherford category 5 or 6 * Assessment that no conventional surgical or endovascular treatment is possible * Proximally, the target in-flow artery at the cross-over point must be treatable with a 3.5 - 4.0 mm stent after pre-treatment (by visual estimate), and be \<50% stenosed * Subject is willing and has adequate support to comply with protocol requirements, including medication regimen and follow-up visits Exclusion Criteria: * Concomitant hepatic insufficiency, deep venous thrombus in target limb, uncorrected coagulation disorders, or current immunodeficiency disorder * Prior vein stripping surgery and/or vessel harvesting for CABG in the limb intended for study * Life expectancy less than 12 months * Patient currently taking coumarin/warfarin which, in the opinion of the attending physician, interferes with the patient's treatment * Any significant medical condition which, in the attending physician's opinion, may interfere with the patient's optimal treatment * Patient currently participating in another investigational drug or device study that has not completed the primary endpoint or that clinically interferes with the endpoints of this treatment * Patient unable to give consent * Pregnant or breastfeeding women * Documented myocardial infarction or stroke within previous 90 days * Patients suffering from renal insufficiency (GFR value less than 30 ml/min/1.73 m²) who are not on hemodialysis * Patients with vasculitis and/or untreated popliteal aneurysms * Patients with acute limb ischemia * Prior peripheral arterial bypass procedure above or below the knee which could inhibit proximal inflow to the stent graft * Lower extremity venous disease with significant edema in the target limb that may inhibit the procedure and/or jeopardize wound healing, in the investigator's opinion * Known or suspected systemic or severe infection (e.g., WIfI foot Infection grade of 3) * Known or suspected allergies or contraindications to stainless steel, nickel, or contrast agent that cannot be adequately pre-treated, or patients who cannot receive anticoagulation or antiplatelet aggregation therapy * Severe heart failure, which in the opinion of the investigator may compromise subject's ability to safely undergo a percutaneous procedure (e.g., known ejection fraction of \< 40%, NYHA Classification III-IV)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Auckland City Hospital
Auckland, New Zealand
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Changi General Hospital
Singapore, 529889, Singapore
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Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis
's-Hertogenbosch, 5200 ME, Netherlands
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Klinikum Arnsberg GmbH
Arnsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, 59755, Germany
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Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep
Alkmaar, 1815 JD, Netherlands
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SRH Klinikum Karlsbad-Langensteinbach
Karlsbad, Baden-Wurttemberg, 76307, Germany
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St. Antonius Hospital
Nieuwegein, 3430 EM, Netherlands
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St. Franziskus-Hospital GmbH
Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, 48145, Germany
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Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Singapore, 308433, Singapore
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Universitätsklinikum Graz
Graz, 8036, Austria
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Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg
Heidelberg, Baden-Wurttemberg, 69120, Germany
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Universitätsklinikum Leipzig
Leipzig, Saxony, 4103, Germany
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can Metal-Stripping infusions save diabetic limbs and hearts?
- Heat therapy for leg pain study pulled before starting
- New dissolving scaffold could save legs from amputation
- New imaging tool may predict leg amputation risk