I’ve written about this before, when Dr. Ferdinand Kiemeneij let me know back in April that this year was the 20th anniversary of the first angioplasty and stent placement performed via the radial artery in the wrist.
The procedure was done by Dr. Kiemeneij in The Netherlands — and it was exactly twenty years ago today when Dr. Kiemeneij taught the band to play!
And play it has. Many countries in the world now do the majority of interventional procedures via the wrist artery — and, alas, the United States is far behind the curve. Less than 10% of procedures are done this way here — but that too is changing. Continue reading