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Hospitals
WATCHMAN FLX offers new hope for more patients with AFib More than 90% of blood clots that cause stroke in AFib originate in the left atrial appendage. Bloodthinning medications help reduce the risk of stroke but also increase the risk of bleeding. The first-generation WATCHMAN device, now nearly 15 years old, is an implantable device to close off the appendage. The second-generation WATCHMAN FLX provides an even better option for more patients with non-valvular AFib. In January, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) became the first provider in the region to use WATCHMAN FLX. Mehul Patel, MD, director of Structural Heart Disease and Hybrid Lab with MLH, along with Sutherland Cardiology Clinic’s medical team, performed the procedure. Patel, who has implanted more than 400 WATCHMAN devices, said the FLX offers “better safety, better conformability and better sealing” meaning more patients with various anatomies are eligible. In a minimally invasive procedure, the WATCHMAN device is implanted through a small needle puncture in the groin area and catheter guided into the patient’s heart. The umbrella-like device, about the size of a quarter, seals off the left atrial appendage to prevent stroke. With a one-night hospital stay, some suitable patients go home on the same day. Within 45 days, most patients are able to stop blood-thinning medications. Focused on the future of medicine, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is committed to providing patients the latest cutting-edge technology to help improve their lives.
Baptist Cancer Center is one of the only centers within a 3-4-hour radius to offer intraoperative radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer patients. The procedure, called intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), delivers a concentrated dose of radiation during surgery to remove a tumor in the breast, reducing the need for weeks of breast cancer radiation. . Dr. Alyssa Throckmorton, breast surgeon and medical director for Baptist’s multidisciplinary breast cancer program, said IORT helps reduce side effects, such as skin changes from whole breast radiation or risk of infection from partial breast radiation devices. IORT also eliminates the need for patients to make multiple trips to the hospital for weeks of radiation treatment. “Patients can have their breast cancer removed, receive a single dose of radiation and be finished with all their local therapy in a single setting,” said Throckmorton. Throckmorton performed three of the first four IORT procedures at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women, and Dr. Lindi Vanderwalde performed the other procedure. In all cases, Dr. Angela Wortham, radiation oncologist, delivered the radiation once the area was prepped by the surgeon.
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