[dspring]

I know the FDA hasn't aproved them yet, but many places are doing them. I just went to an excellent seminar, and they talked about them quite a bit. The scary thing was, after every procedure they would open up the distal protection device, and show you what it had stopped. To say the least, it was pretty scary thinking that the reeains in the distal protection device were actually potential strokes. It made me really stop and think about other embolisms we cause with angioplasties/stents.

[batmik]

One doc is doing them at my hospital. But I don't work radiology I work the unit that receives them post-op. I know they can drop their pressure fast and we have to be alert for s/s of stroke. He actually is one of the few in the state that does them and gets his patients from several hundred miles away.

[DB 1959]

I work in Radiology and we have one Neuro Interventional Rad. at our hosp who in doing carotid stents. I would love to go to a seminar about them.

[renerian]

My FIL has one. renerian

[dspring]

The special procedures lab that I work in pretty much does it all right now, except carotids. We have a Vascular Surgeon, that is gung ho about them, so it won't be long now. I'm ususally not too much of a chicken when it comes to medicine, but I have to say with the distal protection devices out there to catch any break off plaque, they don't sound too bad.

[RadRN2]

I've been involved in maybe two cases, nothing real recent. Both cases were done without distal protection, wasn't yet available. Both were cases surgeons didn't want to touch. We were lucky, both were successful. Pretty scary. Sure glad the protection devices are out now.

[dspring]

I watched a couple live case studies of carotid angioplasties, and stents when I was at the VIVA seminar in Las Vegas, and after each case they opened the distal protection devises up, and you wouldn't believe the "crap" that was in them. Scares the heck out of me, to think of doing one without the DPD.

[nursehrhg]

Hi - we have a doc doing carotid stenting. They come in as an early admit and spend one night in the ICU. He uses the special filter that catches any clots - he takes it out after the stent is deployed. The patients do great during the procedure - difficult to sedate because he wants them perfectly still so we are thinking of doing them under generals or MACs.

Radiology RN