Vascular surgeons at Doylestown Hospital have pioneered a dissolvable stent that holds clogged arteries open long enough to heal, according to a staff report from TAPinto Doylestown.
The Esprit BTK Everolimus Eluting Resorbable Scaffold System helps individuals with chronic and life-threatening clogging of the arteries, also known as ischemia, below the knee. The stent keeps arteries open, allowing the required drugs to be delivered and do their job. It then dissolves.
Untreated clogged arteries can cause leg amputations.
Surgeons insert the dissolvable stent through a catheter placed in the groin. The stent opens the blockage, allowing the drug everolimus to help the arteries heal until they can stay open on their own. The stent usually stays open for three years, before dissolving.
The current standard treatment uses a small balloon, also known as balloon angioplasty, to open vessels. However, this method does not prevent recurring blockages that may require further treatment.
According to Atul Rao, a vascular surgeon with Doylestown Health, the dissolving stent, approved by the FDA last year, could be both more durable and also help in preventing repeat blockages.
Read more about Doylestown Hospital and the dissolvable stents in TAPinto Doylestown.
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