Sacred Heart offers new device to save limbs, open tiny arteries

The SilverHawk device shaves away plaque from inside clogged arteries.

Sacred Heart Hospital is the first hospital in Florida and among the first in the country to offer a new technology to treat patients suffering from clogged arteries in the lower legs and feet.

Using a device called the SilverHawk(tm) DS, physicians at Sacred Heart are able to remove blockages in tiny arteries as small as 1.5 millimeters that ordinarily would go untreated. Thanks to the device, physicians can now restore blood flow to the feet in order to restore mobility, heal wounds and help patients avoid amputation of lower limbs.

"We have successfully treated many patients at Sacred Heart with the SilverHawk system to relieve leg pain, improve blood flow to the leg and foot, and in some cases, to prevent lower limb amputation," said Dr. Stuart Harlin, a vascular surgeon. "Losing a toe can be just as traumatic as losing a leg. By using the new device, we can advance a specially designed catheter further down the leg into the foot to remove plaque that is clogging tiny arteries."

Sacred Heart estimates that last year, more than 300 people in Northwest Florida lost a toe, foot or leg because of peripheral artery disease (PAD). For many patients, the results are devastating to their health and lifestyle.

"Many doctors as well as patients facing a loss of limb are not aware of this new procedure, so patients in our region are still undergoing amputation without even an attempt at saving a limb," said Dr. Aaron Montgomery, an interventional radiologist at Sacred Heart. "We are committed to saving every limb possible as we now have the ability to treat even tiny arteries in the feet."

The procedure has been especially helpful for persons suffering from poor circulation in the feet due to diabetes.

"We're using this procedure on a varied class of diabetic patients, particularly those with peripheral artery disease (PAD)," said Dr. Joseph Kiefer, a Pensacola podiatrist. "It has really helped in the healing process of our diabetic patients, and we've been able to avoid more invasive procedures because of it."

Dr. Kiefer added: "I have been referring my patients for this procedure increasingly on a preventive basis, because it is so effective. It helps us intervene at an earlier stage because it is less invasive."

The new device, also referred to as the MiniHawk, is part of a family of SilverHawk catheters developed by FoxHollow Technologies to remove artery blockages in the legs caused by vascular disease.

The Mini-Hawk uses a tiny rotating blade to remove plaque from inside the tiny arteries of the foot which supply blood to the toes.

PAD affects more than 12 million people in the United States but at least half of people with the disease experience no symptoms. Similar to heart disease, it is caused by the buildup of fat and cholesterol that disrupts normal blood flow.

Symptoms of the disease may include pain or cramping in the hips and legs while walking, or numbness or weakness in the legs and feet. Leg pain can be so severe that patients have difficulty walking short distances. In its worst stages, the disease causes tissue in the feet and legs to die, eventually leading to gangrene and amputation.

"We are excited about using this latest advance in minimally invasive treatment for peripheral artery disease," said Dr. Chris Bosarge, an interventional radiologist at Sacred Heart. "This disease is mostly likely to affect persons over 60, those who have diabetes, and those with a history of heart disease, smoking, high blood pressure and obesity."

For more information on peripheral vascular disease, call 416-7000 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.