Ocean Medical Center Offers Innovative TCAR Procedure to Treat Carotid Artery Disease
April 05, 2019
Minimally Invasive Procedure Reduces Risk for Stroke
The Vascular Program at Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center is among the first in Ocean County to offer Trans-cervical Carotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR), a treatment that dramatically reduces the risk of stroke in patients with blocked arteries, the major blood vessels that deliver blood to the brain. Ocean Medical Center joins Jersey Shore University Medical Center and Hackensack University Medical Center as one of three hospitals in the Hackensack Meridian Health network to offer this minimally invasive procedure, and the only hospital with three certified physicians.
Carotid artery disease is a buildup of plaque in two of the main arteries in the neck that supply oxygen-rich blood to the brain. If left untreated, carotid artery disease can lead to stroke. TCAR is a minimally invasive and safe procedure that is clinically proven to temporarily reverse blood flow in the artery to prevent dangerous plaque from traveling to the brain and causing a stroke while repairing the artery with a stent.
Fellowship-trained vascular surgeon, Vikalp Jain, M.D., RPVI of Jersey Coast Vascular Institute at Ocean Medical Center is among one of the first surgeons in the country to gain expertise with the TCAR procedure. He has been performing the procedure for more than four years. “TCAR addresses carotid artery disease for high surgical risk patients at much lower risk of stroke as compared to more traditional approaches,” said Dr. Jain. “Because of its low stroke risk and faster patient recovery, TCAR represents the future of carotid repair.”
TCAR is a state-of-the-art procedure the blends the advantages of traditional carotid endarterectomy incision in the neck and stenting. This safe procedure requires a smaller incision point in the neck (near the collar bone) and another access point in the groin. TCAR is less invasive, reduces the risk of stroke, and has a quick recovery (with most patients less than 24 hours.)
“We are proud to offer this treatment option for high risk stroke patients at Ocean Medical Center,” said Kenneth N. Sable, M.D. MBA, FACEP, regional president southern market, Hackensack Meridian Health. “With this minimally invasive procedure, more patients will now have access to another option for a life-saving treatment.”
Prior to TCAR, the main treatment option for severe carotid artery disease was an open surgical procedure called carotid endarterectomy (CEA). CEA removes plaque from inside the carotid artery to restore normal blood flow to the brain, but the large incision leaves a visible scar the length of the neck and carries risk of surgical complications, including bleeding, infection, heart attack and cranial nerve injuries that can cause issues with swallowing speaking and sensation in the face. By offering both the TCAR and CEA treatments as well as traditional stenting, vascular surgeons can provide patients with carotid artery disease with the best possible treatment that will meet their individual needs.
For more information, please visit https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/services/cardiovascular/cardiovascular-services/tcar/
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 34,100 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The network’s notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2018” list.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.
For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH OCEAN MEDICAL CENTER Located in Brick, Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center has been ranked #8 in New Jersey and #17 in the New York Metro area by U.S. News & World Report in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Serving southern Monmouth and Ocean counties, Ocean Medical Center is an advanced care hospital that offers the convenience and easy access of a community hospital with the high technology advances and expertise of a major medical center featuring expert care coordinated by a team of top specialists in emergency, cardio vascular, women’s health, cancer and orthopedic services. Delivering on this promise, Ocean Medical Center recently opened an innovative medical-surgical floor equipped with 36 private patient beds that integrates technology and design to transform the patient experience and empower patients to return to their lives as soon as possible. This forward thinking renovation project completed the $82 million expansion including the 44,300 square foot state-of-the-art Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Emergency Care Center and a new comprehensive Cancer Center. Ocean Medical Center officially became a premier community-based teaching hospital with the launch of its inaugural class of family medicine and psychiatry residents. Future medical education developments include the addition of an Internal Medicine residency program in spring 2019. The medical center provides 24/7 obstetrical hospitalist coverage and a dedicated obstetrical emergency department to enhance the continuity of care for women and their infants. Certified by the Joint Commission as an accredited orthopedic program, Ocean Medical Center is a designation for orthopedic joint replacements where more than 1,000 joint replacements are done annually. Other key services include: designation as a Primary Stroke Center; brain lab neurological surgery, DaTscan and advanced imaging technology; da Vinci® robotic surgery; general thoracic and vascular surgery; one of the nation’s most advanced cardiac catheterization laboratories and cardiac services; acute care of the elderly; and critical care services. The medical center has achieved Magnet® recognition, one of the highest and most prestigious distinctions a health care organization can receive for nursing excellence and high-quality patient care and has received the 2018 Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award for superior safety performance. Ocean Medical Center received the highest score in the hospital network for team member engagement in the Great Places To Work® survey. Additional certifications and awards include: 2018 Get with the Guidelines® continuous quality improvement awards for Heart Failure Gold Plus Award, Stroke Gold Plus and Stroke Honor Roll Elite Awards, the 2018 ACTION Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award and the 2016 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award. The medical center also operates the state’s first satellite Emergency Care Center in Point Pleasant, the Ocean Care Center, and hospital-based programs at Jackson Health Village.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 34,100 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The network’s notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2018” list.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.
For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.