Doctor Implants First Dissolving Heart Stent in Georgia

A doctor at Northeast Georgia Medical Center has become the first in the state to implant a dissolvable heart stent.

Dr. Christopher Leach implanted the stent, for patients with coronary artery disease, at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.

It was the third procedure of its kind in the southeastern United States, according to the hospital.

"We’ve been researching this life-saving technology for several years, closely monitoring its FDA trials and waiting for the day we could use it to help our patients," said Leach, an interventional cardiologist with The Heart Center of NGMC. "I’m proud that we’ve completed our first case and look forward to helping the next person who can benefit from this advanced treatment."

The "Absorb" stent, made by Abbott, is considered a major advance in the treatment of coronary heart disease -- which results in blocked arteries, restricted blood flow and increased risk of heart attack.

It affects 15 million people in the United States, according to NGMC.

The center is one of only 100 hospitals in the United States who have begun offering the FDA-approved dissolving stents this month.

Made of dissolving material similar to dissolving stitches, the stent stays in a patient's body for about three years. Metal stents remain in a patient's body for life.

(Image courtesy Northeast Georgia Medical Center)