FOR MORE INFORMATION Nicole Galletta Media Relations Trinity Mother Frances Health System 404-848-9990 ngalletta@bressleradv.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW TECHNOLOGY TREATS HEART DISEASE WITHOUT BYPASS TYLER, TX—Heart disease is the number one killer in America today. However, thanks to the new technology of Stereotaxis, many cardiac patients at the Center for Advanced Surgery and Technology (CASAT) at Trinity Mother Frances Health System in Tyler, Texas are getting a new lease on life. Currently Mother Frances Hospital is one of only two sites in the country to offer bi-plane magnetically assisted catheterization labs. In fact, CASAT was the first medical facility in the United States to use Stereotaxis to avoid bypass surgery. Stereotaxis uses magnets to steer a wire catheter through the heart in order to find and eliminate difficult to reach blockages that may have otherwise required surgery to reach. Physicians are able to navigate interventional devices quicker and with greater accuracy by using the magnets. “I believe that this technology allows us to treat more extensive coronary disease,” said Roderick B. Meese, MD, interventional cardiologist at Tyler Cardiovascular Consultants and the medical director of Trinity Mother Frances Heart Institute. “It allows for treatment of multiple narrowing without bypass.” Bi-plane with magnetic navigation enables the physician to view both the top and the bottom of the heart vasculature at the same time without having to move the patient. The magnetic navigation system increases efficiency, enhances productivity, dramatically improves image quality, and helps to improve the ease and accuracy of catheter-based procedures. Jimmy Isom learned the benefits of Stereotaxis first hand when he experienced a heart attack earlier this month. “I felt like someone was squeezing my heart” said Isom. After calling 911, Isom asked to be rushed to TMFHS in Tyler, Texas. “My daughter-in-law works there in the cardiac unit, so I knew a lot about the hospital and that I would be well taken care of.” After his arrival at CASAT Isom’s case was quickly turned over to Dr. Roderick Meese who performed the bi-plane Stereotaxis procedure that saved Isom’s life. “The new technology allows for both the diagnosis and the intervention at the same time,” said Dr. Meese. “I had two blockages in my heart, one was 85% and the other was 97%. Without this technology I would have needed open heart surgery,” said Isom. “Instead I was able to walk out of the hospital the next morning. I felt like a 20 year-old.”
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