Lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) has symptoms that range from claudication to ischemia and limb loss. In the past, the standard of care for PAD was bypass surgery, but with new technological advances, less invasive percutaneous revascularization can be achieved. One of these advances is atherectomy. Atherectomy devices remove plaque from within the vessel allowing for more blood flow. One advantage of using atherectomy, as opposed to balloon angioplasty, is the reduction in complications such as dissection and elastic recoil. There are several different atherectomy devices: directional atherectomy, laser atheroablation, rotational aspiration/atherectomy and orbital atherectomy. Some risks associated with atherectomy are
