Imaging lab helps heart and vascular patients at OhioHealth Mansfield
How to Access the eNewspaper
How to access over 200 local eNewspapers across the USA TODAY Network.
USA TODAY
Heart and vascular care at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital received a $5 million upgrade this year as part of a $14.9 million investment project.
New interventional lab imaging equipment for the heart and vascular team, as well as interventional radiology, became operational in January, according to Dr. Kaleb Kohler, MD, who specializes in vascular surgery at OhioHealth Physician Group in Mansfield.
“This is unique to OhioHealth Mansfield and this is actually top-of-the-line imaging for even the surrounding areas including Columbus, Cleveland and those larger markets,” Kohler said. “This is the new latest, greatest thing.”
The machine gives doctors a clear view inside the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body, which branches into the renal arteries to supply the kidneys and the mesenteric arteries for the intestines.
The investment has started to pay dividends for patients in North Central Ohio.
“We’re fixing between 3 and 7 aortas a week,” Kohler said.
Most of the procedures are planned as electives, but the hospital can provide emergency care if needed.
Patients can be screened for aortic aneurysm
Aortic aneurysms caused almost 10,000 deaths nationwide in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of those, 59% were in men and 75% affected patients with a history of smoking.
“The aneurysm is in and of itself just a blood vessel that gets too big,” Kohler said. “That can happen for a variety of reasons — the most common one is smoking, but it can be genetic and it can be other causes.”
As the aneurysm grows larger like a balloon, it risks bursting, known as a rupture.
Vascular doctors at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital place a stent inside the vessel to keep the blood from directly touching the aneurysm.
“With no blood flow into the balloon, the balloon’s not getting any pressure and can’t pop,” Kohler said. “Sort of like a patch on a tire.”
Patients can find out if they have an aneurysm through a screening process.
“Basically, if you’ve ever smoked and you’re over 65, you should be screened with an ultrasound at least once,” Kohler said.
‘We try to keep more cases local’
The new equipment at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital allows doctors to gather high-quality images from inside blood vessels of the leg, neck, chest and belly.
“It allows us to fix aneurysms or blood vessels that are too big in the belly and fix them, involving those blood vessels that go to the kidneys or to the guts,” Kohler said.
The imaging allows doctors to help patients who previously may have been sent to larger hospitals. Now, patients may even travel to Mansfield from elsewhere for their procedures.
“It’s allowing us to do more complicated work more safely for patients,” Kohler said. “We try to keep more cases local and keep patients here for their care closer to home.”
419-564-3508
link
