A new vascular services clinic will soon offer services to patients in Starkville at a new location on Highway 182 West.
North Mississippi Cardiothoracic Surgery and Vascular Clinic plans to provide carotid care, aneurysm repair, dialysis access, limb-saving procedures and DVT treatment. The new location is at 1205 Highway 182 West.
Dr. Joey Stinson is one of the physicians that will rotate through the new clinic and told the SDN the plan is to open the clinic by July 10.
Vascular surgeons Dr. Sourabh Mukherjee and Dr. Justin Parden will also rotate during the week at the clinic providing a specialized range of health care offerings.
“The point is to help patients with the drive and hopefully eliminate some of those trips,” Stinson said.
The closest medical facility that offers the same services is in Tupelo, with another location in Jackson.
Another goal is to have a five-day a week schedule with nurse practitioners, but plans for that service have not been finalized.
The clinic will primarily specialize in pre- and post-op care. DVT treatment for blood clots will be one of the services offered. In certain situations, minimally-invasive procedures are done known as venous stunting, where a catheter is inserted and a small balloon is opened in the blocked or narrowed vein. A stent in then placed in to keep the vein open.
ANEURYSM REPAIR
An aortic aneurysm occurs when an enlargement or “bulge” develops in a weakened area within the largest artery in the body.
These can happen in the abdomen or in the chest, and if left untreated, can burst and cause death, Stinson said.
Vascular surgeons perform two types of aneurysm repair—endovascular, or minimally-invasive, and open surgery.
“With open surgery, we make an abdominal incision and remove the aneurysm then sew a graft in place to reestablish blood flow,” Stinson said. “In the minimally-invasive procedure, we don’t remove anything. Instead we use a catheter to place a stent graft to reinforce the wall of the aorta from the inside and help keep the damaged area from rupturing.”
ACCESS TO DIALYSIS
Access to kidney dialysis will also be another crucial service offered. When kidneys fail and are unable to clean and filter blood, dialysis is needed and is often provided in two ways.
“We can create an AV fistula by taking a nearby vein and sewing it to a nearby artery. Over time the vein develops into a usable fistula,” Mukherjee said. “If a person’s veins are too small for an AV fistula, we can create an AV graft by sewing a prosthetic graft between an artery and vein in the arm or leg.”
LIMB-SAVING PROCEDURES
Limb-saving procedures are another critical component of the new clinic.
NMMC said most lower limb loss in Mississippi is caused by peripheral arterial disease (PAD) or diabetes.
PAD occurs when arteries harden, causing a buildup of plaque in the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to all the tissues of the body. Over time, plaques worsen and reduce essential blood flow to the limbs resulting in blocked arteries and leading to possible amputation.
CAROTID CARE
Carotid arteries occur when plaque builds up in the main blood vessels to the brain, which can lead to a high risk of stroke.
NMMC says 80 percent of strokes are ischemic strokes, where part of the circulation to the brain is cut off, usually by blockages in the carotid arteries.
Stinson said they help prevent stroke with two main types of procedures.
“In a carotid endarterectomy, we remove the plaque from the artery through a neck incision then repair the artery using a graft from vein elsewhere in the body or a woven patch,” Stinson said. “The other option is carotid stenting, a minimally invasive procedure where we place a small, expandable tube called a stent in the narrowed artery.”
The clinic will be a part of the North Mississippi Medical Center health care network.
North Mississippi Health Services - headquartered in Tupelo - services 24 counties in north Mississippi and northwest Alabama.