Georgetown Leads the Way to Pain-Free Living for People with PAD
“Just walking a couple blocks had become painful,” Jack Luibl lamented. “I had to stop using the treadmill at the fitness center and forget about golf. The pain in my right calf was keeping me from enjoying so many things in life. I had no idea I could get back to such a pain-free state.”
 |
 Dr. Richard Neville used a new, minimally invasive tool called the Silverhawk to restore normal blood flow to Jack Luibl’s leg. |
Suffering from peripheral arterial disease (PAD), severe pain due to a narrowing of the blood vessels that restrict blood flow to his legs, Mr. Luibl talked to many doctors and underwent two unsuccessful procedures at other area hospitals before he found relief at Georgetown University Hospital. “My neighbor said her father had received help for his leg pain from Dr. Richard Neville at Georgetown,” explained Luibl. “She urged me to go see Dr. Neville and I’m so thankful she did.” Dr. Neville, Georgetown’s Chief of Vascular Surgery, used a new, minimally invasive tool called the Silverhawk to restore normal blood flow to Mr. Luibl’s leg.
The Silverhawk scrapes and removes plaque and other blockages from arteries to increase blood flow and eliminate pain. An extremely thin tube is inserted in a needle and into a very small incision in the leg to reach narrow or blocked arteries.
A tiny blade at the tip of the tube scrapes the internal walls of a narrow artery, widening it and allowing blood to flow more freely.
The surgery requires only one night in the hospital and patients are walking the very next day. “I was back to normal activity in two days,” Luibl happily acknowledges.
In addition to the Silverhawk, Georgetown offers a variety of options to treat simple and complex vascular conditions.
 |
| The Silverhawk scrapes and removes plaque and other blockages from the inside of arteries to increase blood flow and eliminate pain. |
“I tell my patients that leg pain is not just a part of getting old,” says Dr. Neville. “You simply don’t have to ‘live with it.’” Dr. Neville, the first surgeon in the region to use the Silverhawk, is one of just a few who have used it to treat PAD in arteries below the knee. Those with leg pain above or below the knee should consider getting an evaluation at Georgetown. “We often get calls from adults seeking advice for their aging parents,” notes Dr. Neville.
Nancy Clark is another recent fan of Georgetown’s Silverhawk procedure. Always a fast walker and an avid theater fan, Clark says she’s “never been limited by anything,” until leg pain started to slow her down. She tried to push through it, but the pain was powerful.
|
