Sharon, Trumbull Medical Centers Perform Pioneering Procedure

SHARON, Pa. – Dr. Ali Kimyaghalam and Dr. John Ambrosino, vascular surgeons at Sharon Regional and Trumbull Regional medical centers, recently completed the region’s first mechanical thrombectomy using a FlowTriever. 

The FlowTriever is the first mechanical thrombectomy device that is FDA-approved and built for the treatment of pulmonary embolism, according to a news release. The device removes large clots from big vessels such as the pulmonary arteries without the need for thrombolytic drugs and intensive care unit stay. 

Both Sharon Regional and Trumbull Regional are now offering the vascular procedure.

“The FlowTriever procedure is typically a one-hour, single-session procedure, performed under conscious sedation,” Kimyaghalam said. “The device’s mechanism of action is to disrupt and aspirate clots using nitinol mesh disks and large lumen aspiration catheters to rapidly remove the clot and restore blood flow.”

Before this procedure, anticoagulation or blood thinners were the most common treatment for pulmonary embolism. Anticoagulation only prevents new clots from forming and does not actively breakdown existing clots, the release states.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.