Background In cases of multilevel obstructive atherosclerotic disease, hybrid procedures of concomitant iliac artery stenting and femoro-popliteal bypass (IS-FPB) may represent a valid approach, but results are still unclear. The aim was to evaluate early and long-term outcomes of concurrent IS-FPB. Methods This retrospective study included 75 patients (76 limbs) treated with concomitant IS-FPB between January 2010 and June 2016. All patients were prospectively enrolled in a dedicated database. Long-term patency and limb salvage rates were reported using Kaplan-Meier curves. Clinical presentation, lesion sites and extension, distal runoff, type of stent, and bypass were evaluated for their association with patency using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results Mean age was 72.2 ± 9.4 years; the Society for Vascular Surgery comorbidity score was 1.14 ± 0.61. A covered stent (CS) was implanted in 41 (54%) iliac arteries and a bare-metal stent in 35 (46%); a polytetrafluoroethylene graft was used for bypass in 44 limbs (58%) while 32 limbs (42%) had great saphenous vein bypass. Technical success was 99%; the 30-day cumulative surgical complications rate was 6%, mortality 2%, and morbidity 1%. At 42 months, primary patency of the entire ilio-femoral axis was 65.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 53–86%). This finding was primarily related to femoro-popliteal bypass occlusion (primary patency, 69.5%), rather than iliac stent loss of patency (primary patency, 94.6%). Secondary patency was 77.6% and limb salvage 89.9%. Univariate analysis demonstrated that Rutherford category 5/6 was a negative predictor of FPB patency (P = 0.04), whereas common femoral artery endarterectomy (P = 0.03) and the use of a CS (P = 0.02) were positive predictors. Multivariate analysis finally indicated that the use of CS to treat iliac obstructive disease was an independent predictor of patency (hazard ratio, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.03–0.64; P = 0.01). Conclusions Concurrent IS-FPB has acceptable early and long-term results. Even if further studies are needed, the use of a CS for the iliac obstruction seem to provide better outcomes in the hybrid treatment of these cases of multilevel disease.
