Unique Device Treats Pulmonary Embolisms

The heart and vascular care team at Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital is using a unique minimally invasive device to treat patients with potentially deadly pulmonary embolisms.

The device, known as the FlowTriever, was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is the first thrombectomy device cleared by the FDA for the treatment of pulmonary embolisms. The pulmonary embolism specific clearance was based upon the strength of the recently released results from the FlowTriever Pulmonary Embolectomy (FLARE) Clinical Study. The study is a prospective, multicenter, single-arm study evaluating the FlowTriever System in 106 patients with acute pulmonary embolisms at 18 sites in the United States.

The FlowTriever allows for the non-surgical removal of blood clots form the pulmonary arteries without the use of thrombolytic drugs and the risk of bleeding complications. The device uses a specially designed catheter that is fed into the site of the clot and is designed to pull the clot from the pulmonary artery, allowing blood to flow freely.

“This device is an important breakthrough for patients with pulmonary embolisms,” says with Herman Kado, M.D., cardiologist at Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital. “Using this device is making it possible for us to provide our patients with an effective treatment option and one that reduces the risk of bleeding complications.”

Dr. Kato was one of the first doctors in Michigan to treat patients using the FlowTriever. In addition, Dr. Kado and Dr. Antonious Attallah, cardiologist at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit, were the first in the state to use a non-surgical method known as the ClotTriever for removal of blood clots from large veins without the use of blood thinning drugs. The device uses a specially designed combination catheter and sheath that attaches to clots and pulls them from the peripheral arteries.

About Ascension Michigan

In Michigan, Ascension operates 15 hospitals and hundreds of related healthcare facilities that together employ approximately 26,000 associates. Across the state, Ascension provided almost $230 million in community benefit and care of persons living in poverty in FY2017. Serving Michigan for over 140 years, Ascension (www.ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In FY2017, Ascension provided more than $1.8 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes approximately 165,000 associates and 34,000 aligned providers. Ascension’s Healthcare Division operates more than 2,600 sites of care – including 153 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities – in 22 states and the District of Columbia, while its Solutions Division provides a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, facilities management, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.

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