Peripheral Vascular Disease / Peripheral Arterial Disease
Minimally Invasive Procedure

Peripheral Vascular Disease (also known as Peripheral Artery Disease) and Leg Pain

Many people with blocked leg arteries, known as peripheral artery disease or PAD, attribute the associated pain, numbness, tingling or weakness to aging and don’t seek medical treatment. The painful painful condition is also called peripheral vascular disease (PVD).

PVD may involve disease in any of the blood vessels outside of the heart and diseases of the lymph vessels however, the legs and feet are most commonly affected.

PAD affects nearly 12 million people in the United States. Similar to cardiovascular disease, PAD is caused by the buildup of fat and cholesterol, known as plaque, which disrupts normal blood flow to arteries in the vascular system. The leg pain associated with PAD can be so extreme that patients may have difficulty walking short distances.

Those at risk of developing PAD include patients with high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Other contributing factors include obesity, smoking and an inactive lifestyle. The blocked arteries found in people with PAD also indicate the likelihood of narrowed arteries to the heart and the brain, making PAD a powerful warning sign of existing cardiovascular disease and heart attack or stroke. 

Minimally Invasive Procedure Offers Relief for Severe Leg Pain by Cleaning Out Arteries

Baptist Medical Center Downtown patients have another alternative in the treatment of a painful condition called peripheral vascular disease (PVD). It is also known as Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). The SilverHawk™ Plaque Excision System is a new FDA-cleared device for the safe removal of harmful plaque from blocked arteries in the legs.

This unique device uses a tiny rotating blade the size of a grain of rice to shave away large quantities of plaque from inside the artery. As it is excised, the plaque collects in the tip of the device and is then removed from the patient. Thus the artery is cleaned of plaque, as opposed to older procedures that merely pushed the plaque off to the side.

Like angioplasty, SilverHawk™ plaque excision is a minimally invasive procedure performed through a tiny puncture site. Minimally invasive surgery refers to surgery performed in ways other than through large "open" incisions in the body. Patients find the new minimally invasive surgical techniques are very beneficial: pain is substantially reduced, risk of infection is decreased, recovery times are shorter, and, subsequently, costs are reduced.

Before the arrival of plaque excision, treatments for PVD included angioplasty, stenting and open bypass surgery, an invasive procedure which requires creating a large incision and involves a hospital stay. Both angioplasty and stenting clear a channel in the artery for blood flow by pushing plaque up against the artery walls. However, patients often return within six months to have the procedure repeated because plaque has crept back into the artery and blocked it again.

The SilverHawk™ device used by Baptist Downtown cleans out the artery by removing the plaque altogether. Like angioplasty, plaque excision is a minimally invasive procedure performed through a tiny puncture site. This device provides great relief to our patients and has improved their quality of life immensely. This new procedure allows Baptist physicians to treat patients who, in the past, would have had to go to open surgery. Cleaning out the arteries effectively gives a patient’s legs a second chance.

Read more >>