{"id":140746,"date":"2025-03-03T21:57:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T02:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=140746"},"modified":"2025-03-03T21:57:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T02:57:47","slug":"st-lukes-first-in-region-to-provide-novel-treatment-for-avoiding-lower-extremity-amputations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=140746","title":{"rendered":"St. Luke’s First in Region to Provide Novel Treatment for Avoiding Lower-Extremity Amputations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Image caption: Using the LimFlow system, blood flow can be rerouted around a blocked artery and channeled into a vein modified to serve as an artery.<\/em><\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s physicians are offering a new minimally invasive procedure that offers hope to persons facing likely amputation of a lower extremity due to a permanently blocked artery, called chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s vascular surgeon Jared Feyko, DO, became the first physician in the region to treat a patient with the LimFlow minimally invasive system to improve the blood supply to a patient\u2019s lower extremity. In the hybrid OR at St. Luke\u2019s Bethlehem Campus, he created a novel blood supply to the patient\u2019s foot using a vein rather than an artery, since the patient\u2019s artery was completely blocked. This saved the patient from a major amputation.<\/p>\n

Many persons experiencing a totally blocked blood supply to their leg eventually must undergo major lower extremity amputation. These advanced, limb-threatening plaques commonly form in patients with diabetes or chronic kidney disease, or those who are long-time smokers. CLTI can cause foot pain, prevent wounds from healing and may ultimately require amputation of a limb.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally, arteries supply oxygen and life-sustaining nutrients in blood throughout the body, and veins return blood to the heart and lungs for regeneration,\u201d explained Dr. Feyko. \u201cIn patients with CLTI, whose diseased or damaged artery cannot serve as the blood supply to the lower limb, LimFlow technology enables us to adapt a vein so it will serve as an artery.\u201d<\/p>\n

LimFlow, approved by the FDA in 2023, comprises balloon catheters, endoscopic instruments and covered stents, which are inserted in veins to become blood channels. Physicians use ultrasound imaging technology for visual guidance during this delicate procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe LimFlow treatment can benefit select \u2018no-option\u2019 patients in whom all other medical and surgical options to correct arterial blockages have been exhausted,\u201d said Dr. Feyko, who has performed this innovative procedure on a total of 14 patients, thus far.<\/p>\n

Using the LimFlow system, Dr. Feyko rerouted blood flow around the patient\u2019s totally blocked tibial leg artery in the calf. He then channeled flow it through a tiny puncture from the artery into the adjacent tibial vein, which he had modified to serve as an artery and become the new blood supply to the patient\u2019s foot.<\/p>\n

Since undergoing this procedure, the patient has less pain in his lower leg and foot, their chronically infected foot\/leg wounds are healing and, most importantly, they have been able to avoid total amputation of the once-in-jeopardy limb.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis procedure, and subsequent tissue\/limb survival, were possible only because we have access to the last-chance LimFlow treatment,\u201d Dr. Feyko continued. He estimates that at least 20-30 patients per year will be able to undergo LimFlow at St. Luke\u2019s, because their tibial artery and vein are adaptable to this new, limb-saving treatment. In addition to Dr. Feyko, St. Luke\u2019s interventional radiologists will perform this unique procedure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1872,\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites. With annual net revenue of $4 billion, the Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school campus. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke\u2019s, a member of the Children\u2019s Hospital Association, established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.<\/p>\n

SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency, and patient satisfaction. St. Luke\u2019s is a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. The Network\u2019s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Fortune\/PINC AI 10 years in a row, including in\u00a02021 when it was identified as\u00a0THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.\u00a0In 2021, St. Luke\u2019s was also identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image caption: Using the LimFlow system, blood flow can be rerouted around a blocked artery and channeled into a vein modified to serve as an artery. St. Luke\u2019s physicians are … Continue reading St. Luke’s First in Region to Provide Novel Treatment for Avoiding Lower-Extremity Amputations<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140747,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/limflow.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140746"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=140746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/140747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=140746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=140746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=140746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}