BAYLOR HEART AND VASCULAR SERVICES AT FORT WORTH
MEASURING INNOVATION IN HEART AND VASCULAR CARE
For Baylor Heart and Vascular Services at Fort Worth , fiscal year 2017 turned out to be a year of astounding “ firsts ,” extending the tradition of quality and commitment to patients in Tarrant County with advanced cardiovascular services including greater patient access to innovative technology . From innovative devices and equipment such as the Amplatzer™ PFO Occluder to the Tryton Stent and Corindus ® Robotic System , Baylor Heart and Vascular Services at Fort Worth continues to lead the way in delivering quality cardiac care in the center operated by Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital on the sixth floor of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth .
AMPLATZER™ PFO OCCLUDER
In November 2016 at Baylor Heart and Vascular Services at Fort Worth , the cardiovascular services heart catheterization lab team placed the first commercial implant of its kind in two patients with patent foramen ovale ( PFO ), a condition commonly referred to as a holein-the-heart . The AMPLATZER™ PFO Occluder is now available to a wide range of patients living with PFO , a disorder present since birth .
Estimates indicate that approximately 25 percent of the population live with a congenital PFO . In a developing fetus the foramen ovale , a small , flap-like opening which allows oxygenated blood from the placenta to bypass the lungs , typically closes shortly after birth . When the flap remains open , or “ patent ,” it can permit dangerous clots to pass from the right side of the heart to the left , and travel up to the brain and cause a stroke . Based on a comprehensive evaluation from a neurologist and a cardiologist , a patient ’ s stroke caused by a PFO could qualify to receive the AMPLATZER™ PFO Occluder . The FDA approved the closure device only for patients whose stroke resulted from PFO ; the device seals the unwanted hole and reduces the risk of stroke . Under investigation since 2003 , the AMPLATZER™ PFO Occluder received FDA approval for commercial use in October 2016 for PFO patients with two conditions – patients who had already experienced a stroke , and the stroke was determined to be “ cryptogenic ,” or of unknown origin .
Before October 2016 , a patient ’ s only treatment option after experiencing a cryptogenic stroke was a prescription for blood thinners for the rest of their lives . Because patients are often young women in their twenties or thirties and of childbearing age , blood thinners would limit active
Fort Worth “ Firsts ”
lifestyles . The new AMPLATZER™ PFO Occluder , a minimally-invasive surgical option , offers a decreased risk of stoke without the need for medical management .
Farhan Ali , MD , MPH , FACC , FSCAI , RPVI , medical director for interventional cardiology at Baylor Heart and Vascular Services at Fort Worth , attributes research and clinical trials related to structural heart issues and the advances in device technology as keys to the progress made for patient care . “ This firstin-Texas commercial use is a wonderful advancement for patients in Tarrant County and the surrounding region ,” says Dr . Ali . “ We are grateful these patients ’ neurologists and cardiologists appreciate the importance of pursuing new technology options for their patients . The AMPLATZER™ PFO Occluder will help many patients , both young and old , coping with PFO . With so many people living and growing older with this condition , this is an important development .”
FIRST IN TEXAS : TRYTON STENT
In March 2017 Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital , together with Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth , announced that the Fort Worth cardiac catheterization team and cardiologists on the medical staff became the first in Texas to commercially use an advanced new technology in cardiac stenting , the Tryton Side Branch Stent . From Tryton Medical , Inc ., the Tryton Side Branch Stent was placed in a patient who experienced blocked arteries . Tryton Medical confirmed that this first Texas commercial case using the Tryton Side Branch Stent was only the fourth case in the United States . The procedure was completed at a Baylor Heart and Vascular Services at Fort Worth cath lab .
Image courtesy of Tryton Medical , Inc .
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