BASIL TRIAL

The Bypass versus Angioplasty in Severe Ischaemia of the Leg (BASIL) trial compared for the first time, in a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT), a ‘bypass-surgery-first' with a ‘balloon-angioplasty-first' revascularisation strategy in patients with SLI due to infrainguinal disease who required immediate/early revascularisation. The main outcomes were amputation-free survival (AFS), overall survival (OS), health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the cost-effective use of hospital resources... For the 2008 analysis, apart from four participants lost to follow-up, 100% of patients had been followed for 3 years and 54% for more than 5 years; the longest follow-up was over 7 years; 250 patients (56%) were dead; 168 (38%) were alive without amputation; and 30 (7%) were alive with amputation. Considering the follow-up period as a whole, AFS and OS did not differ between randomised treatments. However, for those patients surviving beyond 2 years from randomisation, bypass surgery..