Bradenton cardiologist first to use Japanese stent

Two Bradenton residents are the first in the United States to try out a new Japanese medical device that helps physicians treat restricted blood flow in the leg.

Dr. Srinivas Iyengar implanted MISAGO stents in the legs of patients suffering from peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, during the past week at Bradenton Cardiology Center as part of a joint clinical study under way in the United States and Japan.

Iyengar said the stent, made of a nickel and titanium alloy, is more flexible and durable than stents used to open diseased arteries in the past. It is inserted with a catheter around a narrowed area of the superficial femoral artery, which is responsible for transporting most of the blood that circulates in the legs and feet.