SilverHawk™ Plaque Excision System

This is the future, FoxHollow Technologies Inc.’s SilverHawk catheter is one of the hottest selling new medical devices on the market and has sent the company’s stock surging since it went public in October 2005.

Titusville, Fla. (July 14, 2006)— Parrish Medical Center (PMC) recently started doing a new procedure to help fight peripheral artery disease (PAD) using the SilverHawk™ Peripheral Plaque Excision System and SilverHawk™ Cutter Driver — devices that remove the plaque that commonly blocks arteries and interrupts blood flow.

Since March 2006, Radiologist Joseph Flynn, D.O., and the Interventional Radiology department at Parrish Medical Center have been successfully performing this procedure. Dr. Flynn is continually advancing his knowledge to bring cutting-edge technology to the North Brevard community through advanced classes and seminar training. Other Interventional Radiology care partners are Tammy Flannery RT(R)(CT)(CV), Kevin Kemerling RT(R), Julie Cook R.N. and Cherie Clark R.N. The SilverHawk is inserted into the patient’s groin through a small puncture site and moved through the artery to the site of the blockage. The tiny rotating blade is activated and the doctor advances the SilverHawk through the vessel, shaving plaque from the artery walls as it moves forward. The plaque is collected in the tip of the device and completely removed from the patient’s body. Plaque excision typically is performed as a stand alone therapy without requiring additional procedures such as stent placement. Multiple lesions and multiple arteries can be treated with a single device. A number of multi-center and single center studies have demonstrated promising early clinical results in a range of patients from those with mild leg pain to those with critical limb ischemia.

Peripheral arterial disease affects more than 30 million people worldwide, and while it can strike anyone, it’s most common in people over age 65. Untreated, PAD can lead to difficulty in walking and, in its most severe stage, gangrene leading to leg amputation. Also, people who have PAD often have arterial blockages in other parts of the body and are, therefore, at greater risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

PRE POST

DR. Gary J. Fishbein, (of The Dayton Heart Center), crossed the occluded distal ATA using a 0.035″ angled Terumo Glidewire® and a 4 French straight taper Glidecath. A 5.5 French SilverHawk™ catheter was advanced through the occlusion, with a total of 6 cutting passes made. Again the results were excellent: the previously occluded ATA was left with 30% residual stenosis and improved collateral flow to the peroneal. There was now straight-line blood flow restored to the foot. It was not felt to be technically feasible to cross the long occlusion in the peroneal artery, so the intervention was stopped at this point. There were no complications with the procedure. Hemostasis was obtained with a Closer AT. Read more here…..