The typical treatment for severely blocked arteries normally consists of tough surgeries with long recovery times, but now the SSM Heart Institute at St. Mary's Health Center is the first in the state to use a technology that allows doctors to skip open surgery with a much less invasive stenting procedure.
The Mo.Ma Ultra Proximal Cerebral Protection Device, recently approved by the FDA, utilizes two balloons to temporarily block blood flow in the arteries to more easily move past the blockages. Typically carotid artery stenting uses a filter device that traps plaque and can sometimes break off during the procedure, traveling to the brain and possibly causing stroke. For those patients with extreme blockage, it can be too risky to safely move the filter across the blockage, thus making them undergo tough open surgeries.
“With the Mo.Ma proximal protection device you do not have to worry about problems associated with positioning a filter across the blockage,” said Dr. Anish Thomas in a press release. “Once the balloons of the Mo.Ma device are positioned you maneuver a wire through the blockage, advance the balloon and stent, open the blockage, aspirate the blood with any debris, and then remove the catheter—and the procedure is finished.”
Unlike open surgeries, patients undergoing this procedure are typically monitored overnight and discharged the next day.
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