A vascular surgery on the carotid artery, never before performed in Brazil, was performed at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) on the 8th. The objective of the procedure is to act on fat and calcium plaques that are capable of causing a stroke . According to Alexandre Araujo Pereira, a doctor at the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Service at HCPA, intravascular carotid lithotripsy is already performed in Europe and the United States.
Intravascular lithotripsy involves the introduction of a balloon that emits ultrasonic shock waves that break down calcified plaques inside the arteries. which prevents them from closing.
The technique is usually used in the circulatory system of the heart and occasionally in the legs. This time, a catheter measuring just 2 millimeters was inserted into the groin and brought up to the neck. After the balloon was used, a stent was placed to prevent further blockage of the arteries. “It is a more effective procedure for complex and difficult-to-treat plaques and can reduce the chance of a stroke,” explains Pereira.
The patient who received the unprecedented treatment in the country is 75 years old and has already suffered a stroke before. She received only local anesthesia and remained awake during the procedure. “Another advantage is that the post-surgery period is faster. The patient was discharged within 24 hours,” said the doctor.
Despite the novelty, the head of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Service at HCPA, Professor Marco Aurélio Grudtner, explains that lithotripsy is still a restricted procedure.
“The use may particularly benefit patients with extremely calcified plaques, in which the stent may not adapt adequately to the vessel. […] Further studies are still needed to define the criteria for use,” he says.
This content was originally published in Vascular surgery to prevent stroke is performed for the first time in Brazil on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
