Vascular Interventional Procedures

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center's vascular interventional procedures are offered as an option to provide effective solutions, improve patient outcomes, and improve patients' quality of life.

Dialysis Access Fistula/Graft

The Dialysis Access, Fistula/Graft procedure, involves connecting an artery and a vein (fistula) or using a synthetic tube (graft). It is vital for patients with kidney failure who require hemodialysis. This connection enables efficient blood flow during dialysis, ensuring smoother and more effective sessions while reducing complications like infections and clotting. It provides a reliable, long-term solution for individuals needing ongoing hemodialysis and improves dialysis efficiency.

Atherectomy

Atherectomy may be done during cardiac catheterization to open a partially blocked coronary artery. Once the catheter reaches the narrowed portion of the artery, a cutting device, a whirling blade (such as a rotor blade), is used to remove the plaque.

Rotoblader

Using a special catheter inserted into the coronary artery, the rotoblader cuts its way into the plaque with a diamond-tipped head, pulverizing it into microscopic pieces that float downstream and are disposed of by your body. The technique is most effective in calcified plaque or soft-stone consistency. There are several variants of the atherectomy (rotoblader) procedure. These procedures are named by the type of cutting device at the tip of the catheter, such as rotational, directional, or extraction.

Stenting and Angioplasty

Angioplasty involves inflating a small balloon into the blocked artery once the catheter has been guided to the proper location in a coronary artery. The pressure from the inflated balloon presses the plaque against the artery wall to improve blood flow.

Stenting is usually performed along with angioplasty. Once the plaque is compressed using angioplasty, a small expandable wire tube called a stent is inserted into the artery to hold it open.

Carotid Stenting

Procedures like carotid angioplasty and stenting, which are frequently used to treat or prevent strokes, open blocked arteries and restore blood flow to the brain. Plaque buildup in the carotid arteries, which are found on either side of the neck, can result in carotid artery disease and possibly even a stroke.

With carotid angioplasty, the narrowed artery is temporarily opened up by inserting and inflating a small balloon, which permits blood to flow freely to the brain. This is frequently paired with stenting, which involves inserting a tiny metal coil into the artery to keep it open and lessen the likelihood that it will narrow once more. When traditional carotid surgery is too risky or not feasible, these procedures serve as alternatives.

Thrombectomy

A thrombectomy is a surgical procedure performed to remove a blood clot from an artery or vein. A thrombus, another name for a blood clot, can obstruct blood flow to your extremities and/or organs, potentially posing a risk to your life or limb. Blood clots can appear in your legs, arms, intestines, brain, lungs, or heart, among other common places.

A thrombectomy is an interventional or surgical procedure used to help restore blood flow through your blood vessel by removing blood clots from an artery or vein. Sometimes complications that could endanger life or limb require a thrombectomy to be done in a matter of hours.