A local interventional cardiologist recently implanted in a patient the Dayton area’s first-of-its kind, naturally dissolving heart stent. The stent is a major advance in  the treatment of coronary artery disease.

Niranjan Reddy, MD of Kettering Physician Network’s Complete Cardiovascular Care performed the procedure at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Heart Hospital at  Kettering Medical Center.

Recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Absorb stent opens clogged arteries to restore blood flow and then gradually dissolves in the body. While stents are traditionally made of metal, the Absorb stent is made of a material similar to dissolving sutures. Absorb disappears completely in about three years except for two pairs of tiny metallic markers that remain in the artery to enable a physician to see where the device was implanted.

“The Absorb stent is the new direction and future of stenting,” says Dr. Reddy. “We are glad to have this advanced technology at Kettering Medical Center. Kettering is one of only 60 medical facilities in the United States to offer implantation of the Absorb stent.”