Ascension Seton expands treatment options for blood clots

Ascension Seton is the first health system in Austin to implement FlowTriever, a device that allows for nonsurgical treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE), which are blood clots that create blockage in a pulmonary artery in the lung. Seton Heart Institute is expanding multi-disciplinary treatment options for high risk blood clots and has now implemented two devices that allow clinicians to capture and remove clots from patient’s arteries. The second device, called ClotTriever, removes deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that forms in a vein deep in the body.

“For many years prior to these innovations, most patients who were diagnosed with high risk PE or DVT across the globe have been undertreated solely with the prescription of anticoagulants, or blood thinners,” said Dr. Peter Monteleone, interventional cardiologist at Seton Heart Institute. “The implementation of these devices allows our clinical teams to treat high risk clots causing lung or heart issues by removing the clots immediately. This also prevents us from needing to use thrombolytic medications to break up the clots which can carry dangerous bleeding risks. This allows us to optimize and streamline care…leading to better outcomes and better quality of life for our patients.”

These devices are used by cardiologists at four Ascension Seton hospitals in the Austin area, expanding Seton Heart Institute’s multidisciplinary treatment options for patients with PE or DVT across multiple sites of care. Dr. Peter Monteleone was the first to perform a lytic free mechanical thrombectomy in Austin, which is a minimally-invasive procedure to remove a clot from a patient’s pulmonary artery without subjecting the patient to the increased bleeding risk that used to be associated with treating patients with thrombolytic medicines to break up the clot. Additionally, Dr. Monteleone has created a multi-disciplinary system in which Seton Heart Institute cardiologists work collaboratively with the critical care, surgical, radiology, hematology and pulmonology teams to improve care for the highest risk PE patients.

The use of ClotTriever and FlowTriever can lead to improved recovery times and quality of life for patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism. Additionally, the use of these devices can reduce the need for intensive care monitoring and reduce the amount of time a patient spends in the hospital. This can help reduce costs compared to patients who previously needed to undergo surgical procedures.

Seton Heart Institute is the cardiac division of Ascension Seton, offering complete cardiac services from the treatment of chest pain to minimally invasive heart surgery and the latest in structural heart procedures. The Seton Heart Institute team of specialists use the latest technology available to diagnose and treat all types of heart problems, from the most common to the most complex. Cardiology services include cardiac transplants, pacemaker and ventricular assist device implantation, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, consultative cardiology, and advanced cardiac imaging.

Animation videos of the FlowTriever device can be seen here, and the ClotTriever device can be seen here.