Use of Clearway™ Balloon vs. Mechanical Thrombectomy as Initial Treatment for Acute Limb Ischemia

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects (positive and negative) of two different devices available to treat people with critical limb ischemia, which involves a sudden decrease in blood flow to the leg that causes a potential threat to the limb and causes pain at rest, ulcers or gangrene. One device is the Clearway balloon, which delivers a drug to dissolve the clot where the blockage is. The other device is the Angiojet, which removes the clot in a mechanical way ("vacuum" effect). This research is being done because currently there is no single proven effective treatment for this condition. Even though, both these devices are commonly used in the clinical practice to treat critical limb ischemia, there are no studies that compare these devices and help us see which one may be better for these patients.