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This week, Texoma Medical Center became one of the first hospitals in Texas to perform a procedure using a revolutionary medical device to treat Peripheral Vascular Disease. PVD affects nearly 12 million Americans causing the blood vessels in the legs, abdomen, pelvis, arms or neck to become narrowed or blocked. The major cause of PVD is a condition known as atherosclerosis-a build-up of fat, calcium and other substances under the lining of the artery. This build-up narrows the artery and reduces blood flow. Poor blood flow to the muscles, bones, nerves and skin of the legs and feet can cause pain and can restrict a patient's mobility.
Traditional treatments to open a partially blocked vessel include angioplasty and stenting. During angioplasty, a thin flexible tube or catheter is inserted through an artery in the groin or arm and carefully guided to the site of the blockage. Once the tube reaches the narrowed artery, a small balloon at the end of the tube is inflated. The pressure from the inflated balloon presses plaque against the artery wall to improve blood flow. Once the plaque is compressed, a small expandable wire mesh tube called a stent is inserted into the artery to hold it open. While angioplasty and stenting are minimally invasive and initially work well, they may cause an inflammatory response that leads to restenosis-or reclogging of previously opened vessels-resulting in the need for another angioplasty or stenting procedure.
Using a device called the PolarCath(tm), cardiologists at TMC are taking angioplasty to another level in a procedure called CryoPlasty. During CryoPlasty, a balloon is filled with a liquid nitrous oxide, which evaporates into a gas upon entering the balloon. This causes the balloon to inflate and then cool to 14° F (-10° C). This in turn is believed to prompt several reactions that open up the artery while doing less damage than standard interventional therapies and may even reduce the number of patients who need repeat visits. The plaque cracks when it freezes, allowing for more uniform opening of the vessel.
Studies have shown that nine months after treatment with CryoPlasty, 85% of treated leg arteries remained opened. "These findings were important to us." according to Mukesh Sheth, M.D., the cardiologist at TMC who performed the first procedure. "This provides us another option to treat patients with even the most challenging clinical cases. For patients, the benefit is remarkable-elimination of pain and potentially fewer visits to the hospital to treat recurrent disease of the vessel. In the future these procedures will help treat blockage in small arteries below the knee, as well," continued Dr. Sheth.
In 2004, Texoma Medical Center was again rated among the best in Texas for its Overall Cardiac Services and received a five-star rating for Cardiac Interventional Procedures according to a study by HealthGrades®, the leading independent healthcare quality ranking company.
Texoma Medical Center is the flagship facility of Texoma HealthCare System and is located in Denison, Texas. For more information about Texoma Medical Center and the physicians affiliated with TMC, visit www.thcs.org . The Texoma Heart Institute may be reached by calling (903) 416-4250.
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