New Technology at Thompson Offers Minimally-Invasive Treatment for Blood Clots

The Interventional Radiology Department at F.F. Thompson Hospital is now offering new, minimally-invasive procedures to treat potentially life-threatening blood clots.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is the formation of blood clots within deep veins, predominantly in the legs. Symptoms include lower extremity swelling, redness, warmth, and pain. In more severe cases, clots may detach and travel to the lungs resulting in a pulmonary embolism (PE), causing a blockage which can quickly lead to serious problems and even death.

Anticoagulation, or blood thinner, is the most common treatment for DVT but it only prevents new clots from forming and will not actively break down existing clots. Intervention with thrombolytics (tPA) or “clot busting” drugs helps to dissolve clots for patients with moderate to severe DVT. However, this treatment is associated with a higher risk of major bleeding and requires an ICU stay.

Now, Thompson can treat DVT with the ClotTriever® System. This system involves an FDA-cleared mechanical thrombectomy device specifically designed to core and collect a clot from the vein wall in a single session, without the need for thrombolytics and a subsequent ICU stay. 

Thompson is among the first in the region to use the ClotTriever® and also among the first in the region to acquire the FlowTriever® for the treatment of PE. Also FDA-approved, this device removes large clots from large vessels such as the pulmonary arteries. This typically involves a one-hour, single session procedure completed under conscious sedation, without the need for thrombolytic drugs and an ICU stay.

Both the ClotTriever® and FlowTriever® procedures take place in a state-of-the-art angiography suite that opened at Thompson in late 2020.

“These procedures have already provided benefit to patients at Thompson, resulting in resolution of symptoms from PE or DVT as well as allowing patients to leave the hospital sooner,” said Dr. David E. Lee of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, adding, “A recent patient seen in our Emergency Department received treatment with the ClotTriever®  and was discharged home the next day, symptom free.”

For more information, visit www.thompsonhealth.com/DVT-PE.