Downstream Paclitaxel Released Following Drug-Coated Balloon Inflation and Distal Limb Wound Healing in Swine

•PCBs are a clinically proven antirestenotic alternative to plain percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of superficial femoral arteries but their application in critical limb ischemia is inhibited by the concern that the downstream release of particulate paclitaxel may negatively impact distal lower limb’s circulation and its tissues already compromised by chronic ischemia.•To investigate this concern experimentally, we used an animal model of standardized distal limb wounds to determine the effect of downstream paclitaxel released during PCB treatment of superficial femoral arteries on distal wound healing process.•A clinically relevant concentration of paclitaxel in the vicinity of the wound did not impair the healing of preexisting distal cutaneous lesions in healthy swine even after multiple PCB deployments.