BMH now offers less invasive Carotid artery procedure for patients at risk of stroke

Patients at BMH now have a new treatment option for Carotid artery disease.

A new device called cerebral protection is being used with Carotid stenting procedures performed at BMH. The protection device functions as a safety net to capture particles dislodged during the stenting process to prevent them from causing damage elsewhere in the artery or brain.

Carotid artery disease refers to the buildup of plaque in the major arteries of the neck that carry blood to the brain. That buildup is an important risk factor for stroke, the nation’s third leading cause of death. The American Heart

Association estimates that 20-30 percent of stroke is associated with narrowing of the Carotid arteries. Today, most patients undergo an open surgical procedure to treat the narrowing of the Carotid arteries.

For some patients, open surgery is not an option, due to health concerns, so a minimally invasive procedure called Carotid stenting is a non-surgical option. Any time you conduct a procedure related to the Carotid artery there is a risk for stroke. At BMH, when patients undergo a Carotid stenting procedure they’ll have a reduced risk of stroke thanks to the new cerebral protection device now being used.

“For the majority of people, the traditional surgical approach on the narrowing of the Carotid artery is still the best approach for many reasons,” said William Bechtel, MD, Radiology.

“For highly selected patients who can not or should not have surgery, Carotid artery stenting may provide an effective minimally invasive treatment. With the

new cerebral protection device that we are using here at BMH, the fi rst site in Indiana to use this particular device, we can do it safer than ever before.”

The Cerebral protection acts as a tiny basket like device designed to trap any particles of plaque, blood clot or other materials that may be dislodged during stent placement. Without the basket like device, those particles could travel on through the Carotid artery and into the brain triggering a stroke or other serious complications.

During a stenting procedure, a catheter is inserted near the groin and advanced up through the major arteries in the body to the site of the blockage or narrowing. The Cerebral protection travels though the thin plastic tube along with the stent. Once the stent is placed, the basket device is collapsed and withdrawn along with the catheter. The stent remains as a permanent implant providing support in the Carotid artery.

The first choice for patients with narrowing in the Carotid artery is still open surgery. But for patients who don’t meet the criteria for surgery and must have a stent inserted, the procedure to do so at Ball Memorial Hospital is as safe as it can possibly be thanks to the new technology.

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