Making Medical History at Lane Regional

CENTRAL — This month Lane Regional Medical Center and Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) celebrated their 5,000th cath lab procedure over a five-year period.  Lane and CIS jointly provide the most advanced cardiovascular technologies in the area—and Lane says it is the first and only hospital in the entire nine-parish Baton Rouge region to offer:

• Transradial Heart Catheterizations performed via transradial access through the wrist, instead of transfemoral access through the groin.   Benefits of the transradial cath include easier access, virtually no bleeding complications, no concern about blood thinner medications, greater mobility, earlier discharge, and considerably faster recovery.

CIS Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Deepak Thekkoott is one of only three physicians in the state and the only physician in the entire region to use the specialized transradial technique. Less than five percent of heart catheterizations in the United States are currently performed utilizing this technique.

Impella — the world’s smallest heart pump — relieves the heart’s pumping function and provides the time needed to initiate life-saving interventions.  Used in the most dire circumstances, the device is inserted into the femoral artery and pumps up to 2.5 liters of blood from the left ventricle into the ascending aorta, providing the heart with active support.

Lane says Lane and CIS were the first in the region to provide:

• Orbital devices, such as the Diamondback 360, to remove arterial blockages

• Ultrasound-assisted CROSSER catheter to enable angioplasty in extreme cases of peripheral vascular disease

• The Supera stent to treat long lesions with low radiation exposure

• The Volcano pressure wire to measure blood pressure within the arteries

• The Turbohawk calcium removal system

Once again Dr. Thekkoott is the first and only cardiologist in the region to receive certification in Endovascular Medicine from the American Board of Vascular Medicine.  He is also board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, nuclear cardiology, echocardiography and cardiovascular computed tomography.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Deepak Thekkoott, Dr. Charles Thompson, Dr. Amit Patel or Dr. Satish Gadi, call 225-654-1559.  The Cardiovascular Institute of the South clinic is located in Zachary at 6550 Main Street, Suite 1000.