Vascular surgeons with Baptist Heart just became the first in Central Mississippi to use a new, minimally invasive blood clot technology.
The ClotTriever system can remove large blood clots from big veins through a site as small as 6 millimeters. Doctors can navigate the ClotTriever through the vein, use a sheath to grab the clot and remove it in as little as 30 minutes.
Its use minimizes, or in some cases eliminates, the use of clot busting drugs, which cannot be used in all blood-clot patients because they can cause adverse side effects. Most clots can be removed in a single session, and the ClotTriever technology reduces blood loss.
Blood clots can break off and travel to the lungs or brain, causing pulmonary embolism, brain aneurysm, strokes, heart attack or potentially death, which is why removing them quickly and fully is important. Deep vein thrombosis or blood clot risk factors include:
- Being older than 50
- A sedentary or long-distance travel lifestyle
- Congestive heart failure
- Being pregnant or recently postpartum
- A family history of blood clots
- Hematologic cancers
- Indwelling catheters, such as a PICC or hemodialysis line
- Major trauma
- Inflammatory conditions
- Obesity
- Recent surgery
- Stroke
- Solid cancers
- History of smoking
“We are seeing successful results with the ClotTriever, with a much smaller incision and no need for an ICU stay for most patients,” said Dr. Rishi Roy, a Baptist Heart vascular surgeon who is among the first in Central Mississippi to be trained in the new procedure. “Reduced recovery times allow for patients to get back to their daily lives quicker and with fewer complications.”
Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in Mississippi, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. Baptist Heart offers a range of services, technology and expertise, from preventive care, maintenance and diagnostic tests, to outpatient and inpatient surgical procedures and rehab.
