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Getting Back into the "Flo"
Ocean Medical Center is home to the Jersey Coast Vascular
Institute, where the latest technology and skilled surgeons provide
leading-edge treatments to get patients back on track quickly.
Florence Wojton, 76, better known
as "Flo," no longer takes for granted
her walks on her beloved Lavallette
boardwalk. "I love to walk on my
boardwalk and into town to shop, but
the pain in my leg became so severe
that I couldn’t do either anymore,"
recounts Flo. Luckily, Flo was referred
to Vincent Milazzo, M.D., a vascular
surgeon from the Jersey Coast
Vascular Institute, located at Ocean
Medical Center.
A Family History
Dr. Milazzo performed an ultrasound
of Flo’s leg, which revealed blood
clots in the main artery just behind
the knee. The blockages were caused
by a buildup of plaque that had
formed over the years. Diagnosed
with atherosclerosis, or hardening
of the arteries, Flo was experiencing
extreme pain in her leg and foot
because the circulation in her leg was severely impaired. This put
in jeopardy not only Flo’s ability
to walk, but also her leg itself.
"My mom had hardening of the
arteries," Flo remembers. "My body
just produces a lot of cholesterol." With her family history and her high
cholesterol, Flo had two of several risk
factors for atherosclerosis, which also
include smoking, high blood pressure,
diabetes, and a family history of heart
or arterial disease.
A New Path
Dr. Milazzo recommended that
Flo take advantage of several new
minimally invasive techniques
designed to remove clots and improve
circulation. "We have the latest
advances available for treating Flo’s
condition," remarks Dr. Milazzo.
Using technology called an
AngioJet® — an advanced catheterbased
thrombectomy system —
Dr. Milazzo vacuumed the clots
out of Flo’s arteries. He then opened
up the arteries to their normal
diameter with a balloon angioplasty,
increasing the blood flow to Flo’s leg. The procedure requires just
a small puncture in the groin,
where the AngioJet is inserted over
a guide wire and threaded down
through the artery to target the clot
directly and break it up. As a result,
both the recovery time and hospital
stay are incredibly short. "One night
in the hospital, then home, and I felt
instantaneously better," says Flo.
One Hurdle Left…
But Flo wasn’t completely out of the
woods yet. Like many patients with
atherosclerosis, about four months
after her procedure Flo experienced
claudication, severe pain in her calf
muscle that again impeded her
walking. "As a part of the normal
healing process, scar tissue builds
up, narrows the artery, and claudication
occurs," explains Dr. Milazzo.
Once again, however, Flo benefited
from another advanced catheter-based
treatment, called atherectomy, which
uses a tiny cutting blade to "core out"
the scar tissue and residue plaque
from the artery. After the procedure,
an angiogram with dye confirms that
the artery is clear again.
At Flo’s three-month follow-up
visit, all looked well. "At this point,
Dr. Milazzo wants me to get moving
again. Last night I was shopping in
town, and while I had to take it slow,
I made it all the way home — that’s
more than a mile," Flo says with a smile.
"I’m happy to be able to take my daily
walks on my boardwalk again."
 – Anne Marie Keevins
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