A Breakthrough DVT Treatment at John C. Lincoln
A breakthrough treatment for DVT (deep vein thrombosis) is now available at the John C. Lincoln Deep Vein Thrombosis Center, at Deer Valley Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.
John C. Lincoln's specially trained interventional radiologists perform a minimally invasive, nonsurgical procedure that breaks apart, softens and suctions blood clots from legs. The procedure can be done on an outpatient basis and carries much less risk of internal bleeding associated with traditional drug-based DVT treatment.
Through John C. Lincoln’s advanced DVT treatment, pain related to the deep-vein blood clot usually disappears overnight, and swelling is typically gone within 10 days. Patients are more likely to return to their previous level of physical activity.
The John C. Lincoln Difference
The John C. Lincoln Deep Vein Thrombosis Center uses an aggressive DVT treatment—the AngioJet® Rheolytic Thrombectomy System, the world’s leading mechanical clot-removing system.
Think of AngioJet® as one part pharmaceutical roto-rooter, one part vacuum cleaner. Using imaging technology, interventional radiologists guide a highly sophisticated catheter through a deep vein in the leg, to reach the clot.
While the patient is under local anesthetic, a flexible wire is extended down the vein. A specialized catheter is run along this wire to the site of the clot.
At the clot, AngioJet® sprays a clot-busting drug, called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), to break apart and soften the clot. The catheter’s vacuum then suctions the tiny pieces of blood clot out of the body. A filter prevents any bits from escaping into the blood stream, where they could wreak havoc in other parts of the body.
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How John C.'s advanced DVT treatment works: Once guided
to the blood clot, an AngioJet catheter creates a powerful
fluid flow, drawing the clot toward the inflow windows. Inside
the catheter, saline jets break the clot into microscopic
particles, which are removed from the body. |
Sometimes a mechanical stent is installed to prevent the stressed vein from collapsing and prevent future clot development at the site.
A minimally invasive deep vein thrombosis treatment, AngioJet® improves quality of life following the procedure. Compared with traditional therapy, hospital stays can be shortened or eliminated. The deep vein thrombosis treatment requires no incisions or special surgery.
A Safer Alternative to Traditional DVT Treatment
The AngioJet® system represents a bold alternative to typical DVT treatment, in which DVT patients are prescribed anticoagulation medications (blood thinners) and may be required to wear tight-fitting compression stockings. Depending on the severity and location of the blood clot, traditional DVT treatment may span several months and require numerous follow-up physician visits.
While medical treatments can stabilize a deep-vein blood clot and stockings aid circulation, they do nothing to destroy a clot or prevent it from traveling to the lungs. There, a clot can cause pulmonary embolism, the leading complication of deep vein thrombosis.
By comparison, the AngioJet® deep vein thrombosis treatment offers a number of dramatic benefits:
- Hospitalization is reduced.
- Exposure to blood-thinning drugs is lessened.
- Long-term damage to veins is minimized.
- DVT symptoms typically disappear within 7 to 10 days.
For three months following the AngioJet® DVT deep vein thrombosis treatment, patients are given blood-thinning medications, as a precaution against the formation of a new clot.