Sparks Health Introduces Innovative Surgical Procedure

New technology used to treat brain aneurysms has found its way to Sparks Health System in Fort Smith.

Dr. Clint Wood performed surgical procedures on two patients recently at Sparks Regional Medical Center using the Pipeline Embolization Device (PED).

The wire mesh cylindrical device, approved in April 2011 by the Food & Drug Administration, is placed within an artery in the brain to treat aneurysms.

The PED, with trial and development led by California internist Daniel Cher, is intended to redirect blood flow away from the aneurysm, causing the blood that remains in the aneurysm to form a blood clot. This clot prevents rupture of the aneurysm and may also cause the aneurysm to shrink in size over time.

“The device allows us to take people with what were considered inoperable lesions and repair them in sometimes less than an hour,” Wood said. “It’s amazing technology.”

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock is the only other health care facility in the state using the technology, according to a Sparks news release.

Expiration dating for the PED has been established and approved by the FDA at three years. According to Wood, that refers to the “shelf-life” of the device. Once it is in the patient, it is not removed.