NGMC Implants Dissolving Heart Stent

Northeast Georgia Medical Center becomes the first and only hospital in Georgia to implant a naturally dissolving heart stent.

Dr. Christopher Leach implanted the FDA-approved dissolvable heart stent in a patient Monday afternoon.

Hospital officials in Gainesville said the stent is a major advance in the treatment of coronary artery disease because the stent literally dissolves over time.

Coronary artery disease affects 15 million people in the United States and remains a leading cause of death worldwide.

Northeast Georgia Medical Center is one of only 100 hospitals in the U.S. that will begin offering these stents this month.

According to the hospital, while heart stents are normally made of metal, this one is made of a naturally dissolving material that is similar to dissolving stitches.

The stent disappears after about three years, after the hospital says it has done its job of keeping a clogged artery open and helping the artery heal, whereas metal stents stay in patients’ bodies for life.

Dr. Leach, who performed the procedure, said they have been researching this life-saving technology for years, closely monitoring its FDA trials, and waiting for the day they could use it to help patients.

He said he is proud the hospital has completed the first of these procedures.