Carotid endarterectomy is one of the most common types of vascular surgery in the US. It involves the removal of plaque from the carotid artery to treat stenosis (narrowing) of that artery, one of the risk factors for stroke, the fifth leading cause of death in the US.
Carotid endarterectomy appears as a stand-alone, add-on class in NIFA’s RNFA program, and it is our surgical focus this month. Scroll down for news and resources about the procedure, including an all-new crossword puzzle.
Other news includes an update from Mission to Heal, NIFA’s favorite charity.
Here at home, Admissions Director Tanya Nazarov has just given birth to her first child, a little boy named Carter. During Tanya’s maternity leave, Admissions Counselor Julia Johnson will be talking with many of you, so we’re featuring her in this month’s Spotlight.
Finally, you’ll find job listings and NIFA’s favorite links.
Enjoy!
News
Truck Designed to Haul Pershing Missiles Will Now Carry Mobile Operating Room
If you have been reading our newsletters for a while, you know that NIFA is a big supporter of Mission to Heal, a charity that delivers medical mission teams to faraway locations to serve “the bottom billion” of the world’s population. (See our Dec. 2017 issue for coverage of one of their 2017 missions, and see lots more at their website.)
This year Mission to Heal is developing two new mobile operating rooms. They will launch from Zimbabwe in June 2018, then cut across Central Africa and Anglophone [English- speaking], Lusophone [Portuguese-speaking], and Francophone [French-speaking] Africa. Many of the populations to be visited are extremely remote and roads are hazardous.
The trucks that will carry the mobile surgical units are being manufactured now in the Netherlands. This same model of diesel engine-powered truck, Tactical, 10-Ton, 8X8, MAN, was manufactured in the 1980s and dedicated to the transport and support of the Pershing II (MGM-31C) tactical missile and the Gryphon (BGM-109G) Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM). It is an inspiring swords-to-ploughshares twist that these mighty trucks will now deliver healing rather than weapons.
Mission to Heal’s new MSUs are still in production, so we don’t have video of them in action yet, but here are two videos showing this model of truck navigating some extreme road conditions.
Carotid Endarterectomy Resources
Summary of the Procedure
The Cleveland Clinic: In-depth summary of a carotid endarterectomy from the patient’s perspective.
Statistics
Studies evaluating the effectiveness of carotid endarterectomy on reducing stroke risk:
News
Update on Carotid Endarterectomy versus Carotid Artery Stenting, from the journal Cerebrovascular Diseases (Feb. 2017)
New Technologies for Carotid Stenting Show Promise, from “Cardiology Today’s ‘Intervention’ medical blog, Feb. 2018
Sacred Heart Hospital Announces New Technology to Reduce the Risk of Stroke. New approach involves temporarily reversing blood flow in the artery and diverting dangerous bits of plaque and blood clots into a filter. From the Pensacola News Journal.
Videos
Animated video from Covenant Health and Nucleus Medical Media explaining the carotid endarterectomy procedure. Watch video . . .