The London Health Sciences Centre is the first facility in North America to use a new blood circulation device and first in the world to use the device in cardiac surgery.
The geko device helps manage swelling resulting from excess fluids after heart surgery - a condition known as post-operative edema.
Cardiac surgeon Dr. Bob Kiaii and the rest of the cardiac team at LHSC have been treating patients with the equipment since December.
“The device offers patients a drug-free treatment option for a common condition following cardiac surgery and simplifies current strategies to eliminate excess fluids,” said Kiaii in a news release. “This is important because excess fluids impede oxygen delivery and wound healing, compromise pulmonary function, and delay resumption of bowel function.”
It is the size of a wrist watch and worn behind the knee.
The device is designed to increase blood flow by activating the muscle pumps in the lower leg that return blood to the heart, emulating the blood flow rate normally achieved by walking (up to 70 per cent), without the patient having to move or exert energy.
Patients can apply the battery-powered tool themselves and have the control to turn it off or on.
Dennis Findlay of London was the first patient offered the new treatment immediately after his triple-bypass surgery in December.
“I wore it every day while I was in hospital,” says Findlay. “It was painless and barely noticeable and I’m grateful it helped my recovery.”
About 60 patients at LHSC have benefited from it as part of their treatment plan.
“Early observational use of the geko device has shown promise and we are planning to conduct a controlled trial to further investigate its health benefits,” says Kiaii.
