LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Good Samaritan Hospital is the first hospital on the West Coast to offer patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) a first-of-its-kind dissolving heart stent. Abbott's Absorb™ dissolving heart stent is a drug eluting coronary stent that dissolves, completely and naturally, in the body over time. Absorb™ treats coronary artery disease like a metallic stent, propping the diseased vessel open to restore1 blood flow, but then disappears after the artery is healed, leaving no metal behind to restrict natural vessel motion.
Steven Burstein, MD, interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Cardiac Catherization Laboratory at Good Samaritan Hospital, is the first on the West Coast to implant the Absorb™ dissolving stent to patient Ernest Matson, 69, a retired Microbiology professor from the University of Guam on July 11th.
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, CAD is the most common type of heart disease. CAD is a condition in which the arteries that supply blood to the heart become narrowed or blocked by a buildup of "plaque." Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other deposits that accumulate on the inner wall of the artery. Over time, the plaque hardens and narrows the coronary arteries, limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. Areas of plaque can also rupture, causing a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque. When blood flow to the heart is reduced or blocked, angina (chest pain) or a heart attack can occur.
While stents are traditionally made of metal, Abbott's Absorb™ stent is made of a naturally dissolving material, similar to dissolving sutures. Absorb™ disappears completely in about 3 years, after it has done its job of keeping a clogged artery open and promoting healing of the treated artery segment. By contrast, metal stents are permanent implants.
"With outcomes equivalent to those of the best drug eluting metallic stents, the Absorb scaffolding will dissolve within 18 to 24 months leaving behind a normal and natural vessel," says Dr. Burstein. "This will not preclude further stenting or bypass surgery and may in fact make these future procedures, if indicated, easier to perform."
Absorb™ has been used to treat more than 150,000 people and is available in more than 100 countries worldwide. It received European regulatory approval in 2010 and approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2016.
About Good Samaritan Hospital
First opened in 1885, Good Samaritan Hospital is a 408-bed tertiary care facility offering some of the most comprehensive care in Los Angeles. Specializing in cardiac, orthopaedic, oncologic, ophthalmologic, and women's services, Good Samaritan Hospital offers various medical and surgical programs in its six centers of excellence: Heart & Vascular Center, Comprehensive Orthopaedic Center, Davajan-Cabal Center for Perinatal Medicine, Pancreatico-Biliary, Tertiary Retinal Surgery, and Transfusion-Free Medicine & Surgery Center. For more information visit www.goodsam.org.
1Absorb improves coronary luminal diameter, restores blood flow and enables movement of the treated vessel. Source: Absorb GT1 IFU.