Dissolving stent opens up more options

LSU Health Interventional Cardiology recently performed the first procedure in Louisiana and the region using a dissolving stent at University Health hospital. LSU Health was selected as one of dozens of sites to experience the new technology.

“To put it into perspective, it’s important for us as a medical institution in terms of patient care. We have access to the new technology. We are at the forefront. Whoever embraces this first feels good about it. We were chosen to be one of the first,” said LSU Health’s assistant professor of medicine and cardiology, Dr. Pavan Katikaneni.

Stents are usually metal and are used to prop open an artery. Arteries can be narrowed by buildup of fatty deposits, which reduces blood flow. This reduction in blood flow can cause a blood clot, which can cause a heart attack. Stents are preventative measures to help reduce the chance of a heart attack. However, this traditional type of stent is permanent.

Dissolving stents offer a different form of treatment, as they are not permanent like their metal counterparts.

“For those patients who already have stent in them, you can only do so much. It makes it difficult,” Dr. Katikaneni said. A dissolving stent could open up more options for patients who have already undergone a traditional stent procedure.

The other advantage of this technology is that a patient doesn’t have to have the stent in his or her body forever.

“The appealing nature is that patients may not want something permanent. It’s like a cast for the blood vessel. That way you don’t need the scaffold for the rest of the life. Just like in any technological advance, and as technology evolves, these stents will come in more in sizes and used in more patients. That’s the nature of science,” Dr. Katikaneni said.

Though the new technology is exciting, Dr. Katikaneni cautioned that this new form of stent is not right for every patient, just like any procedure. A dissolving stent could be a good option for patients who are not candidates for open heart surgery or for patients who have previously had traditional stents, but are facing difficulties.

According to research studies, the new dissolving stents have comparable safety to the current metal stents.

With heart disease being one of the leading causes of death worldwide and taking the lives of nearly 610,000 American annually, the addition of this innovative technology brings another alternative for treating heart disease. This advancement was approved by the FDA in July of 2016.

Abbott Pharmaceutical selected LSU Health Shreveport as one of the sites to use this new technology. Dr. Katikaneni says that LSU Health Shreveport was selected based on the staff’s experience with interventional cardiology.

“We treat patients who have given up hope in many instances … who are ruled out for open-heart surgeries – high-risk patients. This procedure does require an element of training and a new approach. They want people who they have confidence in to roll this out,” he said.

– Tara Bullock