Jennifer Matthews: Getting the morning paper might not seem like a big deal, but it is to 86-year-old Helen Scheier. Until recently, she could barely walk because of the pain in her left foot.
Helen Scheier: I didn't have any feeling in my foot at all except pain.
Jennifer Matthews: The artery that was supposed to deliver blood to her foot was blocked.
Richard F. Neville: These blockages can cause pain when you walk, or can sometimes lead to lack of circulation that's bad enough that people can have amputations.
Jennifer Matthews: Helen faced losing her foot until doctors told her about a new procedure. Instead of bypassing the blocked artery with a vein from her other leg, they used an artificial artery.
Richard F. Neville: It's like a blocked pipe. The plumber doesn't have to go in and replace the pipes, you just have to get a new pipe around the blockage.
Jennifer Matthews: Doctors sew the artificial artery right onto an open artery in the leg. It's essentially a bypass procedure. Blood re-routes and travels through the new artery to get to the patient's lower leg.
Richard F. Neville: What we are hoping is this will allow us to save legs in situations where we couldn't before.
Jennifer Matthews: Another benefit, the artificial artery contains a blood thinner medicine that prevents clots from forming.
Richard F. Neville: That's the critical time period when you don't want the clotting to occur to get the graft to function well.
Jennifer Matthews: This surgery is easier than standard methods because it requires smaller incisions. So far, Georgetown doctors have seen an 80% success rate. Some patients can walk within a week. It's taken Helen longer than that, but two months later, she's painting and crocheting again.
Helen Scheier: There is no sense in living if you can't do the things you enjoy.
Jennifer Matthews: And now she can.
This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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