By Ansley Franco
Christopher DeGroat, MD, an interventional cardiologist with Cardiology Specialists of Birmingham and St. Vincent’s, recently became the first in Alabama to perform the BTK scaffold procedure, a new drug-eluting resorbable scaffold that treats blocked arteries below the knee in people with peripheral artery disease (PAD), which can help prevent amputations.
DeGroat’s interest in finding solutions to PAD began three years ago when he saw a patient with a mild foot wound and referred him to a vascular surgeon. After he learned that the patient had their leg amputated, his career shifted.
“If you look at the morbidity and mortality of below-the-knee critical limb ischemia, 60 percent of people die at five years. So the outcomes are terrible. At that point in my career, I decided that I didn’t want to deal this with for my patients’” DeGroat said.
He found that there are limited options for below-the-knee intervention for people facing amputation or having debilitating pain. Vascular surgery has a poor long-term latency rate, and balloon angioplasties show great results immediately, but have similar outcomes to surgical procedures down the line. Through LinkedIn, DeGroat found the BTK scaffold procedure and began training.
The procedure involves using a bioresorbable scaffold, usually to treat PAD in the below-the-knee arteries. PAD is characterized by narrowed arteries, often due to plaque, that reduces blood flow to the limbs.
DeGroat’s patient, 72-year-old Larry Chafin, a Vestavia resident, had leg pain for about six to seven years before seeing a physician who told him he had a 90 percent blockage in his legs. This is a common situation, according to DeGroat, since many people will ignore symptoms until the pain and/or numbness becomes too much to neglect any longer. Chafin’s cardiologist recommended him to DeGroat, and after two BTK scaffold procedures, one on each leg, Chafin quickly noticed results.
“The immediate result was getting blood down to my feet because my toes were turning blue, so that was a relief,” Chafin said. “Right off the bat, some of the swelling has been relieved in my legs. When I do walk now, they still hurt, but I feel them. I feel the blood tingling going through, trying to go through my legs.”
When DeGroat completed this BTK scaffold procedure, only 500 had been done nationwide. DeGroat said this procedure is important for Alabamians.
“Unfortunately in the South, at times we struggle with getting some of these technologies in and giving our patients the same standard care as other parts of the country, especially in some of the rural areas,” DeGroat said.
Some risk factors for peripheral artery disease are high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. Alabama ranks in the top five states of people with these risk factors.
DeGroat said he has seen an increase in peripheral arterial referrals, especially from northern Alabama and Atlanta. He hopes other community hospitals can continue to obtain new technologies to help the rural populations.
“The number one thing I hope to do is to make people aware of how prevalent PAD is,” DeGroat said. “I joke among patients that you only care about two things: feeling good and living a long time. And this is one technology that has shown that potentially does both of those things.”
