The Trellis

Three little letters spelled big trouble for Kelly Wilkinson last spring after she had shoulder surgery. Wilkinson developed a dangerous blood clot known as a deep vein thrombosis — DVT — in her lower right leg. Clots like this are potentially life threatening because they can break apart, sending bits and pieces tumbling through the bloodstream where they can become lodged in a vessel, creating a logjam that cuts off blood flow to the heart, lungs or brain.

Standard DVT treatment puts patients on a lifetime regimen of medications commonly known as blood thinners, which prevent more clots from forming. The existing clot remains in the vein and patients always run the risk of a piece breaking off, causing a blood clot in the lungs, or less often, a heart attack or stroke. Other common complications include poor circulation in the legs, swelling and leg pain, and foot wounds that won't heal.

But a new treatment is changing that. A device known as the Trellis allows doctors to isolate the clot, administer clot-dissolving medication only to the blocked area and suction out the clot material — all in a procedure that takes a little more than half an hour.

The Trellis is unique because it uses two balloons, one deployed above and one below the clot, to keep the clot-dissolving medication only where it is needed. Dr. Vasco Marques of the Pepin Heart Center at University Community Hospital in Tampa, which is among those offering Trellis, says the clot-dissolving medication makes the clot soft so it can be vacuumed out.

Other treatments for DVT are available that put clot-dissolving medication directly in the clot, but only the Trellis system keeps that powerful medication confined to a focused area, reducing the risk of bleeding, he said.