NMMC Among First in Nation with New Treatment

TUPELO, Miss. (Press Release) -— North Mississippi Medical Center was recently among a select few hospitals nationwide to use a new treatment for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a disease caused when plaque builds up in the arteries and creates blockages.

Ann Wendler, 73, of Saltillo was the first patient to be treated at NMMC with the Lutonix 035 Drug Coated Balloon PTA Catheter—the first and only treatment of its kind approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Wendler’s problems emerged around 2009 when walking her dogs in their Natchez Trace Villas neighborhood. “My husband and I take our Yorkies out for walks several times a day,” she said. “After I would walk about 100 yards, the two outer toes on my right foot started getting numb. I would have to stop a minute, and then I could go on.”

Wendler worked as an LPN for 30 years before retiring in 2006 and was used to being on her feet all day. “Walking had never bothered me before,” she said.

She told her doctor about the strange symptoms, and he referred her to interventional cardiologist Barry Bertolet, M.D., at Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi for further investigation. An ultrasound study of both of Wendler’s legs pointed to PAD.

“He said I had 90-95 percent blockage in my right leg and 50 percent blockage in my left leg,” she said.

Left untreated, PAD can lead to a severe blockage in the arteries of the legs or feet, and eventually, even amputation.“Our goal in treating PAD is to improve blood flow for longer periods of time,” Dr. Bertolet said. “Often this is done by performing balloon angioplasty in the leg to open up the blocked artery, and inserting a stent to keep it propped open.”

During the procedure a thin, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted through an artery and guided to the place where the artery is narrowed. “When the tube reaches the narrowed artery, a small balloon at the end of the tube inflates,” Dr. Bertolet explained. “The pressure from the inflated balloon presses the plaque against the wall of the artery to improve blood flow.” Once the artery is open, the balloon is deflated and removed.

Because her right leg had the more severe blockage, Dr. Bertolet performed balloon angioplasty on that leg first, and Wendler went home from NMMC the same day.

More than a year passed before she began experiencing symptoms in the left leg. “My legs would get tired, and I wasn’t used to that because we walk so much every day,” Wendler said.

“An ultrasound study revealed the stent in her right leg to be wide open but the blockage in her left leg had progressed to 85 percent narrowed, a point severe enough to warrant attention,” Dr. Bertolet said.

This time Dr. Bertolet proposed the new treatment that had recently gained FDA approval. What makes the Lutonix 035 unique is that the angioplasty balloon is coated with a low dose of Paclitaxel to improve blood flow in blocked vessels above the knee.

“We were able to reduce the blockage in Mrs. Wendler’s left leg to 0 percent. This new device has allowed us to give her an excellent long-term result for blood flow without leaving any implanted device behind,” Dr. Bertolet said. “This technology is a major step forward for patients plagued by significant peripheral vascular disease, and we are pleased to bring it to this region.”

“I never had any pain after the procedure,” Wendler said. “I’ve been well-pleased, I started back walking my dogs a week later and have been walking them three or four times a day ever since.”

For more information about the new treatment for PAD, call the NMMC Heart Institute at 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).