This book is apparently intended to help cardiologists gain experience in endovascular procedures, in particular stent implantation in patients who have peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Unfortunately, the text falls short of this goal because it does not offer a balanced view of the topic and is therefore not suitable either for the beginner or for the experienced interventionalist.
The book should have emphasized that balloon angioplasty is still an important interventional procedure and that stents have fallen short of success for many arterial and venous locations. It should also have noted that other interventional procedures and devices have replaced stents for endoluminal treatment of PVD. For example, no mention is made of thrombolytics, clot removal devices, or atherectomy devices. Furthermore, there is no discussion of the treatment of subclavian artery stenosis, tibioperoneal disease, dialysis grafts, or failed surgical bypass grafts for treatment of lower extremity arterial disease. The treatments of venous disease and deep venous thrombosis are also left out.
Some of the chapters are too long and reflect the experience of one particular center instead of providing the current “state-of-the-art” information.
This book is best suited for use by cardiologists who wish to expand their basic knowledge in some, but not all, areas of endovascular treatment of PVD.