Mercy Fitzgerald is the first hospital in state to use new stent

A doctor at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital became the first in the state to treat a patient with a newly approved stent.

Dr. John Finley effectively implanted for the first time on May 25 the Medtronic Resolute Onyx Drug-Eluting Stent, a new cardiovascular stent designed to treat patients who have extra-large blood vessels. Approximately two-dozen stents have been successfully used to treat patients by Fitz’s catheterization lab physicians through late June.

The FDA had only approved on May 1.

“I wanted to be on the forefront of things,” said Finley, who consulted journals and his peers before asking hospital owners, Trinity Health System, to purchase the stent. “Purchasing them gave (Fitz) the opportunity.”

A stent is a small tube used to open up passageways in various parts of the body, the stent depending on where they’re needed, but are mostly used in coronary arteries. The Medtronic stent used by Finley is deployed through the wrist and is reported to be thinner than other stents but can expand to a greater size. Finley said thinner stent struts lessen problems and the Medtronic product allows for better visibility and delivery through the body.

To implant a stent takes about 60 minutes. “We’ve got excellent general cardiologists here, extremely solid, respectable and knowledgeable. Our goal is to expand that expertise and knowledge to the cath lab and be on the cusp of having these technologies,” said Finley about Fitz using the new stent. “This is one example of where we want to move with all technologies and be up to speed.”