Cardiologists using new tools

HATTIESBURG — Interventional cardiologists at Forrest General Hospital are using three new innovative devices to treat patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Hattiesburg Clinic physicians Ben Rester, M.D., Randel Smith, M.D., Craig Thieling, M.D., and Robert Wilkins, M.D., who are all board-certified interventional cardiologists, began using these devices to treat patients with severe PAD. This disease is caused by plaque buildup in arteries that supply blood to the legs and other vital organs outside the heart.

Forrest General says it is the first in Mississippi to use the new Supera stent, manufactured by IDEV Technologies Inc.

A second new device, the CROSSER CTO Catheter, made by FlowCardia Inc., is used to reopen totally occluded or blocked arteries in the leg.

The third new device, the Diamondback Orbital Atherectomy device, which is manufactured by Cardiovascular Systems Inc., is designed to treat heavily-calcified blockages. Forrest General claims it is among the first hospitals in Mississippi to offer this technology.