For several months, the cardiac and vascular thoracic surgery department has been using a new medical device which makes it possible to treat arterial ischemia in a less invasive way. This is the Rotarex intravascular catheter.
When an artery is blocked, blood no longer circulates normally and the organ or limb is not supplied with enough oxygen. This is called ischemia. The obstruction is usually caused by a blocked blood clot.
In vascular surgery, practitioners treat arterial ischemia which particularly affects the limbs (sometimes the arms, but more frequently the legs). Ischemia affects the functional prognosis of the limb concerned. The blood clot must then be removed through a surgical procedure, which can be more or less invasive. Among the most modern and least invasive therapeutic options, we find mechanical thrombectomy.
The cardiac and vascular thoracic surgery department of Poitiers University Hospital has been using a new medical device for several months to carry out mechanical thrombectomies. This is an intravascular catheter called Rotarex, produced by the Straub company and marketed by the BD company. Vascular surgeons circulate the catheter under radiographic control inside the vessels, to reach the clot and suck it out. This catheter is equipped with a rotating head that helps break up the blood clot. The fragments are carried through the catheter using an endless propeller, and are evacuated outside the body.
« We have been able to offer this type of procedure to several of our patients. This new technology effectively allows blood circulation to be restored in arteries 3 to 8 mm in diameter without scarring the skin. The postoperative period is therefore simpler, the patient has less pain and can walk the same evening or the day after the procedure. Some patients can be operated on as outpatients with this device and return home a few hours after the procedure. However, it is important to understand that this device cannot be used for all patients. The causes of ischemia can be multiple and some patients are not eligible. For example, this catheter should not be used when the artery has been blocked for more than six months, or when there are calcifications on the wall of the artery. The surgeon who is treating you will be able to choose the most appropriate surgical technique based on your personal case. emphasizes Dr. Anaïs Peran, vascular surgeon.
The acquisition of the device was made possible by the Committee for Medicines and Sterile Medical Devices. It is an expensive device, but it allows to shorten the duration of hospitalizations, the consumption of painkillers and the care related to scars, in addition allowing the patient to resume walking quickly. ».
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