LAUREL —
Representatives from Johnson & Johnson were in Laurel Wednesday to award Dr. Vinay Kumar and South Central Regional Medical Center on successful clinical trials on carotid artery stenosis.
The trial regarded using a stent to correct the blockage in the carotid artery instead of more invasive procedures. The stent is tubing that keeps the artery open after it opened through a balloon procedure.
Kumar said more than 68 patients ages 65 to 90 enrolled in the program. He said that “high risk” group could experience stroke and even death with the more invasive procedure.
Kumar noted that anything can happen in surgery due to anesthesia and the artery actually being cut. With this new treatment, the patient is fully awake and there is only a small puncture in the groin, he said.
“This trial is so unique because it’s usually only reserved for the major teaching institutions,” said Ryan Sisson, a representative of Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson company, which conducted the trials. “But, also because of the quality of the outcomes.”
With the trial, there was still a stroke rate of about 4 percent with the 200 centers used in the study. However, Kumar experienced a zero percent stroke rate, and similar numbers for complication rate and restenosis rate in re-studied patients.
“No one has these kinds of results,” Sisson said. “A lot of credit goes to the team and South Central Regional Medical Center.”
Frank R. Natale, division manager for endovascular products at Cordis, said he has never seen a medical team “so in tune.”
“I’ve never seen such a well-oiled surgical team,” he said. “Every good surgeon needs a team of individuals. It was almost as if they were reading his mind. That had a lot to do with the outcomes.”
Kumar said he hopes the trial shows that the stent treatment is viable and will one day be a reality in hospitals. Right now, Kumar said, the treatment is a “controversial practice,” with only a select number of doctors allowed to attempt it.
Sisson said Kumar is a pioneer in the field, and was chosen due to his experience.
“He worked with us in the past as one of four national principal investigators for the CASES PMS Carotid Stent trial, a pre-market study evaluating the safety and efficacy of the carotid stent,” he said.
Those results were published in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC).
Doug Higginbotham, chief executive officer of South Central Regional Medical Center, said he was impressed with the results provided by Kumar and his staff.
“It takes a cooperative effort between the physician and the hospital,” he said. “This shows the quality of the staff and our facility. This is a testimony to the dedication and skill of the people involved. We can outperform anybody in the nation.”
Local News
Related Photos
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Representative from Johnson & Johnson awarded Dr. Vinay Kumar and South Central Regional Medical Center Wednesday following a successful clinic trial to treat carotid artery stenosis (blockage). Pictured above, from left, are Frank R. Natale, division manager of endovascular products for Cordis; Kumar; Doug Higginbotham, executive director of South Central Regional Medical Center; and Ryan Sisson, also of Cordis. Photo/David Owens
SCRMC physician honored by Johnson & Johnson
Dr. Kumar perfect in clinical trial using stent procedure
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