Aim:The incremental cost of peripheral orbital atherectomy system (OAS) plus balloon angioplasty (BA) versus BA-only for critical limb ischemia was estimated. Materials & methods: A deterministic simulation model used clinical and healthcare utilization data from the CALCIUM 360• trial and current cost data. Incremental cost of OAS + BA versus BA-only included differential utilization during the procedure and adverse-event costs at 3, 6 and 12-months. Results: For every 100 procedures, incremental annual costs to the hospital were US$350,930 lower with OAS + BA compared with BA-only. Despite higher upfront costs, savings were realized due to reduced need for revascularization, amputation and end-of-life care over 6-12-month postoperative period. Conclusion: Atherectomy with OAS prior to BA was associated with cost savings to the hospital. Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is the most serious manifestation of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Considered as the 'end stage' of PAD, it involves a chronic lack of blood supply leading to persistent ischemic rest pain in the feet or toes, nonhealing wounds and ulcers, and gangrene [1]. CLI often results in amputation of the affected limb(s) with roughly 25% of CLI patients receiving at least one lower extremity amputation [2]. The economic burden of CLI-diagnosed Medicare patients exceeds US$3.1 billion annually, with most of this cost reflecting the high incidence of hospitalizations related to limb loss and the need for major amputation [3].Treating CLI patients has remained quite challenging, since the associated calcification requires a unique mechanism of action to treat the lesion without damaging the vessel [4]. Balloon angioplasty (BA) continues to be the first-line of revascularization strategy in patients where procedural success via less invasive, nonsurgical approach is favored despite consistently poor intermediate and long-term patency outcomes [5,6]. The latter has been attributed to the presence of calcified plaque in femoropopliteal lesions, with arterial wall calcium associated with higher rates of procedural complications, and flow-limiting dissections that frequently require stent deployment in order to maintain vessel patency [4][5][6]. Furthermore, restenosis rates as high as 40-60% within 1 year of postprocedure and poor correlation between primary patency and limb preservation have been reported. But the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines currently recommend against primary stenting of femoropopliteal lesions with atherectomy and stent devices indicated for 'bailout' purposes following suboptimal BA results [5]. Stenting in calcified segments after a prior failed BA often results in stent under expansion and malapposition [6,7]. These are recognized predictors of long-term stent patency and indicate an increased risk of