August 06, 2014

Two TriHealth surgeons have become the first in the region to use a new catheter device that could revolutionize vascular disease treatment.

Patrick Muck MD, chief of Vascular Surgery for Good Samaritan, and Matthew Recht MD put to use the Avenger Pantheris catheter, which allows surgeons to have a clear look inside arteries during plaque-removal procedures.

Clinical trials began several weeks prior to the first procedure, which took place July 25 when Drs. Muck and Recht performed an artherectomy, or a procedure to remove plaque buildup in the arteries.

"For the first time ever, I am able to visualize the inside of the artery and selectively remove plaque without disrupting the healthy portion of the vessel. This has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of vascular disease," Dr. Muck says.

The Pantheris system combines directional atherectomy capabilities with real-time intravascular visualization to remove plaque from blocked arteries. The minimally invasive catheter is designed to remove plaque, while avoiding the disruption of normal arterial wall structures. Despite other attempts in the industry, this has not been accomplished until now.

"We designed Pantheris to help physicians better understand what is going on inside the artery as they are treating it. There isn't a physician on the planet that doesn't want more information about their patients' disease state with the ability to act on it in real time," says John B. Simpson Ph.D., MD, Avenger's founder and CEO who assisted Drs. Muck and Recht during the procedure at Good Samaritan.

For now, the device is being used for peripheral vascular use, meaning for treatment of arteries inside the leg; however in the not-too-distant future, the same device will be used on arteries in the heart.

Good Samaritan was only the fourth hospital in the world to enroll a patient in this clinical trial.