Both facilities became the first community hospital in the region to perform mechanical thrombectomy for the treatment of pulmonary embolism.  

Ali Kimyaghalam, MD, and John Ambrosino, MD, both Vascular Surgeons at Sharon Regional and Trumbull Regional Medical Center, completed the region’s first mechanical thrombectomy using the FlowTriever®. The FlowTriever® is the first mechanical thrombectomy device FDA-indicated and purpose-built for the treatment of pulmonary embolism. The device removes large clots from big vessels such as the pulmonary arteries without the need for thrombolytic drugs and consequent Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay. Both Sharon Regional and Trumbull Regional are now offering this innovative vascular procedure.

“The FlowTriever® procedure is typically a one-hour, single-session procedure, performed under conscious sedation” said Dr. Ali Kimyaghalam. “The device’s mechanism of action is to disrupt and aspirate clots using nitinol mesh disks and large lumen aspiration catheters, to rapidly remove the clot and restore blood flow.”

Before this procedure, anticoagulation or blood thinners were the most common treatment for pulmonary embolism. However, anticoagulation only prevents new clots from forming and does not actively breakdown existing clots. Intervention with thrombolytics (tPA) or “clot-busting” drugs help to dissolve clots for patients with intermediate-risk or high-risk pulmonary embolism. Conversely, this treatment is associated with a higher risk of major and fatal bleeding and requires an ICU stay whereas the mechanical thrombectomy does not.

A pulmonary embolism is caused when blood clots break free in the deep veins of the body and travel through the venous system to become lodged in the pulmonary arteries. The blockage of blood flow results in right heart strain as the right ventricle is unable to push blood past the clot. In severe cases, right heart failure may occur leading to death.

Acute pulmonary embolism causes 100,000-180,000 deaths per year and is the third leading cause of cardiovascular death only after a heart attack and stroke. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, increased heartbeat, coughing up blood, and very low blood pressure or fainting.

Both Sharon Regional and Trumbull Regional Medical Center offer the mechanical thrombectomy procedure using the FlowTriever®. For more information on the advanced vascular services at Sharon Regional Medical Center, visit sharonregionalmedical.org and at Trumbull Regional Medical Center, visit trumbullregional.org.