Importance of Flow down to the Foot
Ted Gifford, MD
Hartford HealthCare
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To me, Serranator is not just another specialty balloon. It’s not a balloon with wires attached or a traditional cutting balloon.
It’s a balloon with highly specialized, oriented serrated elements that allow it to engage plaque and achieve very controlled plaque disruption. This enables improved luminal diameter, which enhances blood flow to the area of interest, while also reducing the need for bailout interventions such as additional angioplasty or stenting.
One of the emerging areas in vascular medicine—particularly in lower extremity peripheral arterial disease—is how we measure and quantify blood flow to the foot. Ultimately, that’s our goal, whether we’re using endovascular therapy or open surgery: to optimize perfusion.
I’ve explored different ways to monitor foot perfusion using various technologies to better assess whether our treatments are truly successful. One of the most striking observations has been the impact Serranator appears to have on flow.
In my experience, where conventional technologies may not produce a meaningful improvement in measured foot perfusion, serration technology has, in some cases, even doubled the flow.
That’s been a very impressive finding.
