US-based Riverside Methodist Hospital has implanted the first US patient with Cook Medical's Zilver PTX drug-eluting peripheral stent, designed for use in above-the-knee femoropopliteal artery.
The stent, which is coated with paclitaxel drug, limits cell growth and prevents the renarrowing of the artery over time.
The combination of stent, with paclitaxel drug, has shown to maintain arterial blood flow to the superficial femoral artery in seven out of ten patients through 24 months after implantation.
The device has also been proven to reduce more than 50% of the need for followup procedures to reopen the artery, claims the company.
Riverside Methodist Hospital Center for Critical Limb Care director Gary Ansel said the device is considered to be the standard of PAD care in the US, as it provides prolonged patient benefit, when compared to the older peripheral arterial disease (PAD) treatments such as balloon angioplasty and bare metal stents.
"It was a great honor for my institution to be first to implant Cook Medical's Zilver PTX as part of the stent's commercial roll-out," Ansel added.
In addition to the US, the Zilver PTX stent is available in 54 markets including the European Union, Brazil, Australia, Taiwan and Japan.