Product Code Database
Atherectomy is a minimally invasive technique for removing atherosclerosis from blood vessels within the body. It is an alternative to angioplasty for the treatment of peripheral artery disease, but the studies that exist are not adequate to determine whether it is superior to angioplasty. It has also been used to treat coronary artery disease, albeit without evidence of superiority to angioplasty.
Atherectomy falls under the general category of percutaneous revascularization, which implies re-canalizing blocked vasculature via a needle puncture in the skin. The most common access point is near the groin through the femoral artery (CFA). Other common places are the brachial artery, radial artery, popliteal artery, dorsalis pedis, and others.
There are four types of atherectomy devices: orbital, rotational, laser, and directional.
The decision to use which type of device is made by the interventionist, based on a number of factors. They include the type of lesion being treated, the physician's experience with each device, and interpretation of the devices' risks and effectiveness, based on a review of the medical literature.
Directional atherectomy is an intravascular procedure guided by optical coherence tomography termed as lumivascular atherectomy.
|
|
