EVENT ABSTRACTS
A 78-year-old lady was receiving chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer via a PICC line, when it became infected. This manifested into infective endocarditis of her tricuspid valve, with growth of a significant vegetative lesion that needed to be irradicated.
An ‘AngioVac’ as it’s commonly referred to, is a minimally invasive procedure that negates the need for conventional open-heart surgery. An AngioVac system is a percutaneous aspiration device, which consists of a veno-veno circuit and filter, that can extract thrombus, emboli and vegetations. Using a suction catheter with self-expanding tip and a reinfusion cannula, a centrifugal pump action creates a negative pressure at the tip whilst continuing to circulate the blood. This enables the removal of infected vegetations and other similarly structured materials. The length of hospital stay and post operative recovery are significantly shortened with subsequent financial burden reduced.
More than one thousand cases are performed in the United States each year. However, this case study represents one of the first in the United Kingdom, which was performed at Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust.
Ashley is the newly appointed Lead Perfusionist at Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust, where he has worked for the past ten years. He has an extensive career spanning multiple professions and continents. Ashley’s primary focus as lead is to create a positive working environment and improve his teams wellbeing.
