MUNSTER — Since her diagnosis of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) in 2006, Lansing resident Sandy Fantin has had pain in her left leg and trouble walking. After a simple outpatient procedure this past Oct. 29 at Community Hospital in Munster to place new drug-coated stents into her femoral artery, Fantin is hopeful that she will finally be able to walk pain-free.

“I was a hairdresser standing on my feet all day long,” she explained. “But in 2006, after running to catch a flight in Georgia; I got a severe cramp in my leg. That was just the beginning. I’ve been on all kinds of blood-thinning medications, had several procedures to treat PAD and a long stent placed all the way from my knee to my groin to help keep the artery open and save my leg. This time, I believe it will be different because the medication on the stent is designed to prevent plaque buildup. I love and trust Dr. Makam. He keeps me walking,” Fantin said.

Interventional Cardiologist Prakash Makam, MD performed the first procedure in Indiana on patient Fantin using new Zilver® PTX® drug-eluting stents in her superficial femoral artery. During the past few years, there have been new treatment options for PAD, and physicians on staff at the hospitals of Community Healthcare System have been among the first to introduce many of them.