Newswise — Washington, D.C., July 5, 2023 – Many are familiar with coronary stents to treat blocked arteries and improve blood flow to the heart. Venous stents work in the same way to open obstructed or narrowed veins deep in the legs or arms. Over time, these stents can close due to clots. This is also known as stent thrombosis. Vascular surgeons have had limited treatment options to remove these clots–until now.
Over a two-day period in March at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, vascular surgeon Steven Abramowitz, MD, became first in the world to use the RevCore thrombectomy catheter, the first deep venous ‘stent cleaner,’ on 10 patients suffering from symptoms of venous stent failure. Dr. Abramowitz successfully dislodged and removed old, rigid clots and debris from the deep veins and stents, all in a single session and restored blood flow. All patients have resumed their normal activities and are doing well.
“Until now, physicians have had a limited options to treat patients suffering from symptoms of venous stent failure where some patients were relegated to repeated treatments that didn’t work very well,” said Dr. Abramowitz, chairman of Vascular Surgery for MedStar Health. “RevCore is a game changer as it physically removes blood clots in stents, restores blood flow, and can potentially reduce the need for additional treatments and retreatments. There are a lot of patients out there who may benefit from the RevCore procedure.”
During the minimally invasive procedure, vascular surgeons puncture the vein behind the knee and in the neck to thread the RevCore catheter to the diseased stent. The cutting element at the end of the catheter is designed to cut material from the implanted venous stents. The procedure is typically completed in less than an hour and patients can go home the same day. Most return to their daily activities within a few days.
Deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is caused by clots in the deep veins, predominately in the legs, but it can happen in other areas of the body. Symptoms include lower extremity swelling, redness, warmth, and pain. In severe cases, clots can break off and travel to the lungs, which is a life threating medical emergency.
RevCore was FDA approved on March 14, 2023, and was specifically designed to remove old clots from deep venous stents safely and effectively.
To date, Dr. Abramowitz has performed over 20 RevCore procedures.
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