James Suero, MD, an interventional cardiologist at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview, Wash., inserts catheters through the left radial artery in the arm instead of the femoral artery in the groin to open up life-threatening blockages — a rare technique, according to The Daily News.
"Only 30 percent of the hospitals in the U.S. do them," Dr. Suero told TDN of the arm insertion method. "And we do them virtually 100 percent of the time."
According to the report, Dr. Suero began using this method three years ago, but it has yet to catch on elsewhere. The cardiologist claims inserting a catheter through the arm produces less bleeding and lowers the risk for complications.
Additionally, Dr. Suero told TDN many patients prefer the radial artery method to the femoral
artery method because they don't have to be stuck lying down for hours.
It's important to note not every issue involving clogged arteries can be solved using the catheter method, according to the report. In cases where multiple arteries are blocked, cardiologists may have to forgo the catheter technique and perform full open-heart surgery instead.
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