R emoving coronary blockages is routine but keeping them unblocked is another matter. Therapies such as angioplasty or stenting often work well, but blockages recur in 25 percent to 50 percent of patients who undergo these procedures. A Health Science Center cardiologist now is pioneering a method of delivering a blood thinner to the spot of the problem. R. Stefan Kiesz, MD, in a series of experimental surgeries in Poland, strings a tiny catheter through the artery. The catheter has a tiny balloon on one end that contains heparin, the blood thinner.
Surgeons inflate the balloon at the blockage so it embeds in the artery wall and releases the drug.
Dr. Kiesz suspects the direct application will reduce risk of another blockage. He says answers will be clearer before the end of the year.