Sparrow doctors first in region to perform Diamondback procedure,
12/11/2008
New technology clears blocked arteries in legs
LANSING, Mich. — Doctors at Sparrow Hospital’s Heart and Vascular Center are the first in mid-Michigan to improve blood flow to a patient’s leg through a procedure using the new Diamondback 360 Orbital Atherectomy System — an innovative, new way to clear clogged blood vessels.
This new technology, available only in a handful of hospitals in the nation, allows doctors an exciting, new option in treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a life-threatening condition affecting up to 12 million people in the United States alone. If allowed to progress, PAD can cause debilitating pain and possibly lead to non-healing wounds and eventual amputation.
By threading a thin wire attached with a tiny, spinning, diamond-coated crown-shaped disk into a clogged blood vessel, Sparrow physician Dale Leffler, DO, sands away plaque inside the artery, vastly improving blood flow to a leg and saving patients from potential amputation.
“With this technology, we are able to help a large number of diabetic, dialysis and cardiovascular patients with leg ulcerations due to poor circulation and clogged blood vessels,” said Dr. Leffler who is a member of Lansing’s Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute. "Unlike stents or balloon therapy that just push the plaque to the side, the Diamondback 360 procedure removes the plaque while preserving the healthy tissue of the arterial wall and reduces the chances of recurring symptoms.”
The tiny bits of plaque that have been sanded from the walls of the blood vessels pose no significant health risk.
“The particles that this creates are actually smaller than blood cells,” Leffler said. “They are circulated through the blood stream and filtered out by the body.”
The minimally invasive procedure requires local anesthesia and most patients go home the same day. The majority of patients can resume normal activities within a day or two.
People who are at risk for PAD include anyone older than age 50; those who smoke or who have smoked; and those who have diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or a personal family history of vascular disease.
For more information regarding new breakthrough therapies available at the Sparrow Heart and Vascular Center, call 517.364.2916 or go to the Sparrow Web site, www.sparrow.org.
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