News/PR
New Minimally Invasive Procedure Offers Relief for Severe Leg Pain by Cleaning Out the Arteries
September 28, 2004
Panama City, Florida - Bay Medical patients now have another alternative in the treatment of a painful condition known as peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The SilverHawkŞ Plaque Excision System is a new FDA-cleared device for the safe removal of harmful plaque from blocked arteries in the legs.
This unique device uses a tiny rotating blade the size of a grain of rice to shave away large quantities of plaque from inside the artery. As it is excised, the plaque collects in the tip of the device and then is removed from the patient.
Before the arrival of plaque excision, treatments for PVD included angioplasty, stenting and open bypass surgery, an invasive procedure, which requires creating a large incision and involves a hospital stay. Both angioplasty and stenting clear a channel in the artery for blood flow by pushing plaque up against the artery walls. However, patients often return within six months to have the procedure repeated because plaque has crept back into the artery and blocked it again.
The SilverHawk device now being used Bay Medical cleans out the artery by removing the plaque altogether. Like angioplasty, plaque excision is a minimally invasive procedure performed through a tiny puncture site.
PVD affects nearly 10 million people in the United States. Similar to cardiovascular disease, PVD is caused by the buildup of fat and cholesterol, known as plaque, which disrupts normal blood flow to arteries in the vascular system. Symptoms of the disease often include severe pain, numbness, tingling or weakness in the leg. Leg pain, known as claudication, can be so extreme that patients may have difficulty in walking short distances.
If left untreated, PVD ultimately can lead to amputations. Last year alone, over 100,000 amputations were performed in the U.S. In a number of hospitals across the country, plaque excision has been used to save the patient's leg from amputation after other peripheral interventions have failed.
Those at risk of developing PVD include patients with high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Other contributing factors include obesity, smoking and an inactive lifestyle. Screening for peripheral vascular disease is simple and painless so consult with your physician to find out if you are at risk.
"Using this procedure, we can remove large quantities of plaque entirely instead of simply compressing it against the vessel wall and hoping it won't come back," said Dr. Charles Mayes. "Cleaning out the arteries effectively gives a patient's legs a second chance."
Currently, there are three physicians at Bay Medical who are performing this procedure, interventional cardiologists Dr. Charles Mayes and Dr. Maher Ayoubi and vascular surgeon Dr. Bud Shuler. Bay Medical began performing SilverHawk procedures in July, treating eight patients so far, with all procedures successful in opening up the occluded vessels. Some of these patients were nearing a point in their disease where amputation was becoming necessary, but are now back to walking with out pain.
For more information on Bay Medical's involvement with this significant advancement, please contact Christa Hild at 747-6542. Graphic animations and stills are also available.