Steve Hoffelt Drumming
Courtesy of Steve Hoffelt
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Heart specialists at UCHealth’s Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland are the first in Colorado to use the newest treatment option for patients with coronary artery disease. It is a stent that dissolves when it’s no longer needed.

In a milestone procedure on August 8, 2016, a 70-year-old Greeley man, Steve Hoffelt, received Abbott’s Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold at MCR. The new dissolving stent, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month.

I talked to Steve on Friday and he wanted everyone to know how truly blessed and grateful he remain for this gift and the care he received.

What is the Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold

The Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold is a first-of-its-kind innovation made of material similar to dissolving sutures. It treats coronary artery disease and then dissolves completely and naturally once it has done its job.

What is a Stent

A stent is a small tube placed inside a narrow or weak coronary artery, allowing it to again efficiently channel blood into the heart muscle, facilitating optimal pump function. Most traditional stents are made of metal . The new Absorb dissolving stent is made from a naturally dissolving material known as Poly-L-lactide, similar to dissolving sutures. It disappears completely in about three years.

MCR’s extensive experience working with the dissolving stent in the clinical trials is why the hospital was selected to be the first in the state to be able to offer this to patients immediately following FDA approval.

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