The 69-year-old patient rushed to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem was suffering from a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that travels to the lung, blocking blood flow and often proving fatal.

Deeming the patient too seriously ill to wait for drug therapy or risk open-heart surgery, doctors at Hadassah turned to a new system called the Flow-Triever that captures and removes blood clots. The technique, the first such system to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, had never been used in Israel before.

“In the past, we could have only helped him with open-heart surgery, but we decided to use a new option,” said Dr. David Planer, director of Hadassah’s Catheterization Department.

Now, two weeks after the procedure, the patient is recovering well at home. The technology will be used in the future to help more patients whose conditions make open-heart surgery too risky.

 

Photo caption: Michael Galbard, 69, to who was given a new treatment for a pulmonary embolism at Hadassah Medical Center.

Read the story in the Times of Israel here.