A Round Rock hospital is the first in the greater Austin area to offer a new, minimally invasive treatment for artery blockages.
The overview
St. David's Round Rock Medical Center announced Sept. 1 that it began offering the percutaneous transmural arterial bypass procedure, which creates an alternate pathway for blood to flow around a blocked artery, according to a news release.
The PTAB procedure was first performed by vascular surgeons Drs. Nicolas Zea and Kofi Quaye at St. David's Round Rock.
The treatment is generally recommended for patients with peripheral artery disease, a condition that limits blood flow to the legs, the release states.
What they're saying
“This milestone reflects our commitment to bringing advanced, innovative vascular care to the communities we serve,” JW Newman, chief executive officer of St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center, said in the release. “By offering the latest medical innovations to our patients, we are expanding access to advanced treatment options and improving quality of care for those who previously had limited options.”
How it works
The treatment uses a specialized stent to create a new pathway rerouting blood flow around segments of the diseased artery, per the release. Patients who receive the limb-saving treatment are able to go home the same day.
According to the National Institutes of Health, a stent is a small mesh tube used to hold open small passages in the body, such as blood vessels.
Traditional open bypass surgery would require large incisions, take up to five hours to complete and necessitate days of hospitalization for recovery, according to the hospital.
