New Drug-Eluting Stents Used
At OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center
 First Procedure Takes Place Four Days After FDA Approval


Dr. Michael L. Hogan
Only four days after the Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug-eluting stent for angioplasty procedures, Dr. Michael L. Hogan used the new device at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center.

The advance is significant because each year 800,000 angioplasty procedures are performed in the United States to open clogged coronary arteries. Stents are tiny metal mesh tubes used to push and hold open narrowed arteries. The Cypher Stent is the first drug-coated stent to earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

"It helps save appropriately selected patients from having to undergo repeat procedures, which is a real benefit to patients as well as their families and, in turn, to society,” says Dr. Hogan, a member of Rockford Cardiology Associates and independent physician with the Regional Heart Institute.

Sirolimus, the drug coating the Cypher Stent, is a naturally-occurring antibiotic that is slowly released into surrounding tissue. The drug inhibits scar tissue from developing and re-clogging the artery, a condition called restenosis. Restenosis is a common problem that affects between 15 and 30 percent of those who have a stent placed in a coronary artery. A study sponsored by the manufacturer found it reduced restenosis by about two-thirds.

Dr. Hogan stresses patients must meet stringent criteria before receiving the new stent. It has not been approved for use in bypass graft disease, or for placing inside another stent located in an artery that has narrowed. It is also not indicated for use in those suffering from an acute heart attack.

"This is a revolutionary advance in cardiac care,” explains Dr. Robert L. Minor, Jr., member of Rockford Cardiology Associates and independent physician with the Regional Heart Institute. “Drug-eluting stents could reduce the number of coronary surgeries significantly.”

The procedure took place in Rockford's first all-digital cardiac cath lab. In 2002, the physicians of the Regional Heart Institute performed more than 6,400 procedures in the three cath labs at OSF Saint Anthony. The Regional Heart Institute is the area's leader in providing cardiac and vascular care in the region.

 
What is a stent?
An intraluminal coronary artery stent is a small, self-expanding, stainless steel mesh tube that is placed within a coronary artery to keep the vessel open. It may be used during a coronary artery bypass graft surgery to keep the grafted vessel open, or after balloon angioplasty to prevent reclosure of the blood vessel, or during other heart or peripheral vascular proceedures.
All Digital Cath Lab Improves Care
State-of-the-art technology, equipment, and additional space for people and their loved ones needing care all add up to one of the most advanced cardiac catheterization labs in the country, says Dr. Robert L. Minor, a member of Rockford Cardiology Associates and independent physician with the Regional Heart Institute.

Opened in the spring of 2002, this $2 million project puts OSF Saint Anthony at the forefront of the digital technology revolution in cardiac care. “This new lab makes us one of the best in the United States, not just in the Rockford area,” says Dr. Minor.

The lab is equipped with the world’s first all digital X-ray cardiovascular imaging system. Cardiologists use the new system when performing procedures to view and treat potential coronary artery blockages that could cause heart attacks or other serious cardiovascular damage. These procedures include angiograms, angioplasty and cardiac stent revascularization. Better images can mean better diagnoses and more effective treatments.

Also as part of the project, a patient admissions area with six beds has been added, allowing short-stay patients who undergo catheterization procedures to be admitted directly to the cath lab unit, to undergo the procedure and to recover in the same unit.

The lab is more proof the Regional Heart Institute at OSF Saint Anthony is on the leading edge of medical care. 

To learn more, call the Regional Heart Institute at OSF Saint Anthony at (815) 395-5493 or e-mail community.relations@osfhealthcare.org.