Medical Journal Houston Vol. 10, Issue 10, January 2014 | Page 5

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January 2014

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TECHNOLOGY

T

Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s
Medical Center becomes first in
Texas to test hybrid design carotid
stent

St. Luke’s Medical Center announced that
they have treated the first eight patients in
Texas in a multi-center, clinical trial of a
new carotid artery stent that can be used as
an alternative to surgery, in surgical highrisk patients with potentially stroke-causing
carotid artery disease.

In partnership with W. L. Gore &
Associates (GORE), physicians at St. Luke’s
in affiliation with THI, are participating in
the Gore SCAFFOLD clinical trial.  This
national study compares the outcomes of
patients treated with the GORE SCAFFOLD
Carotid Stent versus performance data from
carotid artery surgery outcomes. The study
will include up to 50 centers in the United
States, including THI at St. Luke’s, and
will enroll approximately 312 patients. The
national co-principal investigators are Peter
Schneider, MD, Kaiser Permanente Medical
Center, Honolulu; and William Gray, MD,
Columbia University Medical Center.

“In times of uncertainty regarding optimal
treatment for patients with high surgical
risks, it’s important to evaluate unique
treatment options,” said Dr. Schneider.

“The new Gore device is designed to
be flexible, offer plaque retention and
stabilization benefits, and along with bound
heparin, which may provide advantages for
improved patient outcomes,” said Zvonimir
Krajcer, MD, Principal Investigator for
the SCAFFOLD study at St. Luke’s
and Co-Director of Peripheral Vascular
Disease Services at THI.  Sub-Investigators
also participating in the study are Neil
Strickman, MD, THI Co-Director of
Peripheral Vascular Disease Services and
Surendra Jain, MD.
Carotid artery disease is caused by buildup of plaque in the carotid arteries on each
side of the neck. These arteries supply the
brain with oxygen-rich blood. Stenosis,
or narrowing, of these arteries can lead to
stroke, the third leading cause of death in
the U.S.  Historically, the most common
treatment for carotid artery disease has
been carotid endarterectomy (CEA) a
type of surgery performed to remove the
plaque from inside the artery. THI surgeons
have performed more than 8,000 CEAs to
date. THI cardiologists have been studying
alternative treatments for carotid disease
for more than 15 years and have more
performed more than 1,200 carotid stent
procedures to date. 

St. Luke’s Medical Center is first
in Texas to use the FDA-Cleared

FIRMap ™ Catheter in the
treatment of atrial fibrillation

diagnosis of and treatment planning for allows doctors to view specific areas in the
a variety of arrhythmias, including atrial heart, which could sustain an arrhythmia.
fibrillation, atrial flutter, atrial tachycardia, This device, along with a groundbreaking

3D mapping system, has become essential
St. Luke’s Medical Center announced that and ventricular tachycardia.
when performing the progressive procedure
it’s the first hospital in Texas to begin treating  
patients who suffer from arrhythmia―more “This is an exciting and new technology known as FIRM Guided ablation, which
specifically atrial fibrillation (AFib)―with for mapping what is a complex arrhythmia, strives to detect mechanisms causing the
a new procedure that features the FDA- which has the potential to revolutionize the issue.
approach for atrial fibrillation” said Abdi  
cleared FIRMap Catheter. 
Rasekh, MD, FACC, St. Luke’s Medical Through adoption and implementation

To effectively treat heart rhythm Center. “Under the leadership of Dr. Ali of the FIRM Guided ablation procedure,
abnormalities, the source of the problem Massumi, Dr. Mehdi Razavi and I, we patients with AFib will now be able to save
must be identified. SLMC employs have performed five successful rounds of valuable time by reducing physician visits
and complement the use of alternative
a revolutionary 3-D heart mapping procedures with favorable results.”

procedures, such as pulmonary vein isolation
technology, which pinpoints the source of
by Topera,
the electrical impulses disrupting the heart’s The FIRMap Catheter, developed 11:49 AM Page 1
Houston Medical Journal 7.5x9.312 island:January 2014 12/30/13
Please see TECHNOLOGY page 18
normal rhythm―allowing for more effective Inc., is an innovative medical device that

Cardiovascular
care at UTMB.
It’s about getting
your life back.
John always enjoyed fishing with the
guys and dancing with his wife. Coronary
bypass surgery at age 42 did not stop
either activity. Then 17 years later, he
knew something was not right.
Tests confirmed John’s suspicions.
The only option appeared to be getting
on a heart pump and waiting for a
transplant, but the cardiovascular team
at UTMB Health saw another way. They
recommended an aggressive bypass
graft procedure. John benefited from the
work of skilled specialists, subspecialists,
surgeons, nurses, and technicians. These
are gifted clinicians who teach others their
art, using the very latest technology and
techniques. Today John has his full life back.

Left: Daniel Beckles, MD, PhD, FACS, FACC, FCCP
Director, Minimally Invasive Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery
Center Left: Michael Silva, Jr., MD, FACS
Chief, Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy
Center Right: Wissam Khalife, MD, FACC, MAAC
Director, Advanced Heart Failure, Transplant and LVAD Program
Right: George Carayannopoulos, MD
Director, Heart Rhythm Center
The four clinicians featured here are representative of the whole team of specialists spanning
our cardiovascular services.

e University of Texas Medical Branch
Member, Texas Medical Center

Cardiovascular care at UTMB is state of
the art and comprehensive, from heart
rhythm studies to bypass to transplants to
cardiac rehab. With more than 30 locations
throughout G