By Olivia Lavery

A Unity Health Toronto team led by Dr. Andrew Brown has become one of the first groups in Canada to trial a new technology for treating deep vein thrombosis that allow doctors to remove even the most complicated clots without surgery or potentially dangerous medications.

“There is a lot of hope and optimism with the introduction of these new tools,” said Dr. Brown. “In our practice we see 20 or 30-year old patients who can no longer walk-up a flight of stairs because they are limited by pain or breathlessness. We now have a tool to treat these patients.”

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders in the world, effecting roughly 200,000 Canadian patients a year. Blood clots that form in deep veins in the body, often in the arms and legs, can lead to permanent damage in veins and other conditions like chronic pain, disability and post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS).

The St. Michael’s team recently became the first group in Canada to use the ClotTriever System to treat venous blood clots in the arms.

This device has the potential to limit long hospitalizations because it can be used in a single session. The device works for both acute and chronic blood clots, making it unique among blood clot treatments.

Dr. Brown said he was aware of the technology from his literature reviews and conversations with other experts in the field. When a patient came into the hospital one day with a blood clot, he thought it would be a good opportunity to try the device. He didn’t know at the time that it would be one of the first times a physician in Canada used it.

For Dr. Brown, these advancements in treatments for patients are promising and exciting, and the need for continued research and development is critical.

St. Michael’s Hospital employs a collaborative approach in treating patients with DVT and PTS. Dr. Brown and the Interventional Radiology team work closely with the Thrombosis Clinic at the hospital, led by Dr. Vera Dounaevskaia and Dr. Erin Tseng, to manage these often difficult cases.

“I’m saddened when I think of patients I have treated in the past who could have benefitted from this technology. But I believe these innovations will now give us an edge in these challenging cases.” said Dr. Brown. “The vision is to not only perform a procedure but to provide comprehensive care for these patients and in turn, help them to live as full a life as possible.”

Dr. Brown and his team have several more ClotTriever procedures set up in the next few months, and the device is readily available to them when a patient with a blood clot comes into the Emergency Department.

Olivia Lavery is a communications advisor at Unity Health Toronto.