Brain Stent Specifically Designed To Reduce Threat Of Stroke Used
Glendale, CA - Dr. George Rappard, medical director of Glendale Adventist Medical Center's Neuroscience program, performed the first case using the new Wingspan Stent System with Gateway PTA Balloon Catheter to treat intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD).
The Wingspan Stent System is designed to treat atherosclerotic lesions or accumulated plaque in brain arteries and is the only device available in the U.S. for the treatment of intracranial atherosclerotic disease.
Although it has been possible to attempt to open narrowed brain vessels prior to Wingspan, those stents were made of stainless steel, intended for use in the heart, and are stiffer and less able to navigate the brain's vessels.
Using a catheterization procedure, the Wingspan system is guided through the femoral artery in the leg up to the blockage in the brain. A balloon Catheter is used to crack open the plaque and then it is withdrawn. The stent, a wire-mesh tube made of super elastic metal, is inserted and maneuvered into the plaque. As the protective sheath is removed, the stent deploys to prop open the artery. It is self-expanding and can curve or taper to fit the specific brain blood vessel.
"We are proud to have expanded our services to include this specialization," said Scott Reiner, president and CEO, Glendale Adventist Medical Center. "The development of our neuroscience program is yet another example of our commitment to provide the residents of Glendale and the surrounding area with the very best care available today."
Approximately 60,000 Americans suffer strokes each year due to the build-up of plaque in the brain arteries. The new stent is designed specifically to access the fragile distal portions of the brain.
The FDA granted the Wingspan Stent System an HDE (Humanitarian Device Exemption) approval on August 4, 2005. The HDE allows the use of devices that can treat patients who have no alternative treatment options.
The Wingspan stent is intended for patients who have failed medical therapy and have a brain blood vessel blockage greater than or equal to 50 percent of the vessel.
Wingspan is being introduced to the most experienced neurovascular centers in the country. Currently, there are approximately 200 neuroendovascular specialists in the United States.
Dr. George Rappard is a key piece on the Glendale Adventist Medical Center physician team to treat stroke patients, along with neurosurgeons, neurologists and vascular specialists.
Dr. Rappard offers minimally invasive procedures currently only available in Los Angeles County at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, USC, UCLA and Cedars Sinai. Since many patients with cerebrovascular conditions present emergently, they're not always able to take advantage of services across town.
Dr. Rappard has performed many of these minimally invasive procedures. The first complex cerebral aneurysm procedure ever performed in a San Fernando Valley hospital was recently performed at Glendale Adventist Medical Center on a patient who sustained a subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm.
Dr. Rappard is Board certified with a certificate of added qualifications in neuroradiology, and with a specialization in interventional neuroradiology/neuroendovascular surgery.
SOURCE: Glendale Adventist Medical Center