Spectranetics Studies Laser Treatment of Leg Arteries

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 8 -- Spectranetics Corp. reports that the first patient enrolled in an FDA-approved feasibility study has been treated using the company's laser technology on limb-threatening vascular blockages below the knee. The 80-year-old female patient had become a candidate for amputation, having exhausted conventional treatment options, according to her attending physicians. After enrolling in the Laser Angioplasty for Critical Ischemia study at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, the patient received laser treatment in her lower leg that restored blood flow throughout the limb.
The debulking capability of the excimer laser allowed the patient, who failed previous interventional and bypass graftings, to have another chance of having open arteries and healing of ulcerations, said Dr. Bruce Gray, who performed the laser procedure at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.