Diagnosis & Treatment
Vascular specialists in the Critical Limb Ischemia Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital will review your x-rays, prior test results, and medical records; take a comprehensive medical history; and perform a physical exam. Depending on your prior testing and history, we may send you for specialized imaging tests. After your tests are completed, you will meet with your vascular specialist, who will review the test results with you and determine if you need additional consultations with other specialists.
We use angiography to image, and in many cases treat, critical limb ischemia. We may combine an angiogram with one of these minimally invasive treatments to restore blood flow in a limb affected by peripheral arterial disease:
- Balloon angioplasty, where a balloon guided to the site of an obstruction in an artery is inflated, compressing the plaque and widening the artery.
- Stenting, where doctors guide a small mesh support tube to the site of the blockage during angioplasty; when deployed, the tube provides a wider channel through which blood can flow.
- Atherectomy, the use of a specially equipped catheter to remove plaque from an artery's lining.
- Cryoplasty, where doctors both freeze and dilate the artery wall with a balloon.
- Laser angioplasty, used to vaporize the plaque.