Emory Johns Creek Hospital offers carotid stenting

Emory Johns Creek Hospital announced today it is now offering carotid stenting, a procedure to treat severe blockages of the carotid artery. The carotid artery is one of the main arteries supplying blood to the brain, and carotid stenting provides an effective alternative for opening the artery without an invasive surgical procedure.

People with severe narrowing of the carotid artery are candidates for revascularization, or opening of the artery. With carotid stenting, the patient typically remains awake. A catheter is threaded from the groin or wrist artery to the carotid artery using x-ray visualization. A stent is then placed in the blocked artery, and a tiny balloon is inflated to clear the blockage and restore blood flow through the artery. The procedure enables patients to avoid carotid endarterectomy surgery, the traditional, invasive surgical treatment for blockages of the carotid artery. That means they also avoid the risks, complications and general anesthesia that go along with surgery.

“Carotid stenting is often less stressful on the patient and usually offers a faster recovery time than surgery,” said Gregory C. Robertson, M.D., director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. “Because people with blocked carotid arteries are at significant risk for stroke, it is imperative they be treated. This offering is yet another tribute to the expertise provided by Emory Johns Creek Hospital, and it’s a state-of-the-art treatment available right here in our neighborhood.”

Robertson has significant experience in carotid stenting, having performed the procedure since 1995. In 2006, he took a sabbatical from work to travel to Frankfurt, Germany, to train under the highest-volume carotid stenting operator in the world. He is board-certified in vascular medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology.

Founded in 2007, Emory Johns Creek Hospital is committed to meeting the health care needs of Johns Creek and surrounding areas. We are a full-service 110-bed, acute care hospital with a full range of services including round-the-clock emergency care with board-certified emergency physicians, all-digital imaging including a 64-slice CT, MRI, The Birth Place with Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, 24-hour anesthesiologists, intensive care, advanced cardiac care, vascular medicine and surgery, rehabilitation surgery and women’s services. Our hospital is recognized for its Centers of Excellence in bariatric surgery and breast imaging, is accredited in mammography, breast biopsy and breast ultrasound and is a certified Primary Stroke Center.

For more information, contact us at 678-474-8200 or visit our website at www.emoryjohnscreek.com.