OCT allows physicians to more accurately navigate through totally blocked arteries without damaging healthy artery walls. The procedure also avoids the need to rely on X-rays and feel to guide catheters through the vessel. Dr. Haile Jones, interventional cardiologist at Halifax Regional, was the first physician in North Carolina to use the new Ocelot system, with the first procedure performed on May 24 on a 72-year-old male patient. “This is a game-changer for patients with 100 percent blockages,” said Jones. “We are excited to have more opportunities to treat patients in a lot less invasive manner.” The procedure, performed at Halifax Regional Cardiac and Vascular Lab, has been used on four patients since May, and the lab expects to perform about 50 per year. Peripheral artery disease, caused by a buildup of plaque in the arteries that blocks blood flow to the legs and feet, greatly impacts quality of life. Patients with PAD regularly experience painful cramping, numbness, or discoloration in the legs and feet.
Frequently dismissed as normal signs of aging, symptoms of PAD can become so severe and difficult to treat that patients often undergo invasive bypass surgeries that result in greater health risks and lengthy, painful recoveries.
(Before and after images are included as a PDF at the end of this story)
The Ocelot system allows severe blockages to be treated in a minimally-invasive manner, and requires less exposure to X-rays and dyes compared with traditional treatments. “The Ocelot system allows us to go beyond what we used to do,” Jones said. “I am finding a higher success rate for patients with a complete blockage that, before, I would have sent straight to surgery.” To learn more about the Ocelot procedure or other services at the Cardiac and Vascular Lab, call 252- 535-8159 or visit the lab's website by following this link.
