Cardiologist Associate Professor Jamie Layland, Peninsula Health
Cardiologist Associate Professor Jamie Layland has inserted an absorbable heart stent in a patient at Peninsula Health – a breakthrough first for the health service.
Associate Professor Layland and Cardiologist Dr Robert Lew, another Peninsula Health cardiologist, are part of a worldwide team investigating the use of absorbable stents in patients with heart disease.
A/Prof Layland, a Peninsula Health cardiologist, is one of a few cardiologists in the world who has inserted this new absorbable stent.
A stent is a small mesh tube that’s used to treat narrow arteries in the heart. Traditionally, a metal-based stent is placed in an artery in patients undergoing a coronary angioplasty – a procedure which opens blocked arteries and restores normal blood flow to the heart.
“The absorbable stent is similar to the traditional version but it has the benefit of dissolving after the device has served its purpose,” A/Prof Layland said.
“This is a revolutionary advance in the treatment of coronary artery disease,” he said.
“The absorbable stent will open an arterial blockage just like a metallic stent, but then it dissolves over time, allowing the artery to return to a more natural state.”
The radical new stent dissolves in around two years, compared with traditional metal stents which stay in a patient for life.
The absorbable stent is made of a degradable material which is designed to initially stay intact before breaking down over subsequent years. Coronary artery disease is a major health concern with absorbable stents expected to benefit many patients on the Mornington Peninsula.
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