Medical News

June 4, 2004–For patients who suffer from peripheral vascular disease (PVD), Baptist Heart Services, a division of Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., has begun using a medical device called the PolarCath Peripheral Dilatation System. It is designed to reduce the number of patients who have to be re-treated for this potentially disabling disease.

Estimates indicate that nearly 12 million Americans suffer from PVD. This disease causes the blood vessels in the legs, abdomen, pelvis, arms or neck to become narrowed or blocked. The major cause of PVD is atherosclerosis ? a build-up of fat, calcium and other substances under the inner 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, restricted mobility, skin ulceration and eventually gangrene.

?Patients with PVD initially experience no symptoms,? Vascular Surgeon Dr. Charles O?Mara said. ?But pain often develops in the leg from the hip to the foot during exercise or even at rest. This disease can severely restrict a patient?s lifestyle and may lead to amputation.?

Minimally invasive treatments to open a partially blocked vessel include angioplasty and stenting. While these two treatments work well, each may cause an inflammatory response that leads to restenosis (reclogging of a previously opened vessel) resulting in the need for another angioplasty or stent. The PolarCath takes angioplasty to another level by incorporating the CryoPlasty procedure.

In CryoPlasty, a balloon is filled with a liquid nitrous oxide, which evaporates into a gas upon entering the balloon, causing the balloon to inflate and cool. This cooling is believed to prompt several physiological reactions that open up the artery while doing less damage than standard interventional therapies. The plaque cracks when it freezes, allowing for more uniform opening of the vessel. The cooling may also prompt apoptosis, which minimizes the growth of new tissue that may result in restenosis. Nine months after treatment with CryoPlasty, 85 percent of treated leg arteries remained open, according to interim results of a multi-center study sponsored by CryoVascular.

?This new feature of balloon angioplasty holds promise in providing more reliable and durable results after re-opening blocked arteries in the legs as well as in other areas of the body,? Dr. O?Mara stated.

For more information, call the Baptist Health Line at 1-800-948-6262 or 948-6262.

June 4, 2004–For patients who suffer from peripheral vascular disease (PVD), Baptist Heart Services, a division of Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., has begun using a medical device called the PolarCath Peripheral Dilatation System. It is designed to reduce the number of patients who have to be re-treated for this potentially disabling disease.

Estimates indicate that nearly 12 million Americans suffer from PVD. This disease causes the blood vessels in the legs, abdomen, pelvis, arms or neck to become narrowed or blocked. The major cause of PVD is atherosclerosis ? a build-up of fat, calcium and other substances under the inner 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, restricted mobility, skin ulceration and eventually gangrene.

?Patients with PVD initially experience no symptoms,? Vascular Surgeon Dr. Charles O?Mara said. ?But pain often develops in the leg from the hip to the foot during exercise or even at rest. This disease can severely restrict a patient?s lifestyle and may lead to amputation.?

Minimally invasive treatments to open a partially blocked vessel include angioplasty and stenting. While these two treatments work well, each may cause an inflammatory response that leads to restenosis (reclogging of a previously opened vessel) resulting in the need for another angioplasty or stent. The PolarCath takes angioplasty to another level by incorporating the CryoPlasty procedure.

In CryoPlasty, a balloon is filled with a liquid nitrous oxide, which evaporates into a gas upon entering the balloon, causing the balloon to inflate and cool. This cooling is believed to prompt several physiological reactions that open up the artery while doing less damage than standard interventional therapies. The plaque cracks when it freezes, allowing for more uniform opening of the vessel. The cooling may also prompt apoptosis, which minimizes the growth of new tissue that may result in restenosis. Nine months after treatment with CryoPlasty, 85 percent of treated leg arteries remained open, according to interim results of a multi-center study sponsored by CryoVascular.

?This new feature of balloon angioplasty holds promise in providing more reliable and durable results after re-opening blocked arteries in the legs as well as in other areas of the body,? Dr. O?Mara stated.

For more information, call the Baptist Health Line at 1-800-948-6262 or 948-6262.