Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital Completes First TCAR Procedure

On February 1, the first TCAR (transcarotid artery revascularization) procedure was conducted at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. A TCAR is an advanced procedure that places a stent into a narrowed carotid artery to prevent stroke, and can be a good option for patients with carotid artery disease who are considered high-risk for a conventional carotid endarterectomy (CEA) surgery.

The less-invasive TCAR procedure uses a device to briefly reverse the direction of blood flow, flowing away from the brain while the physician operates, which lowers the risk of a stroke compared to traditional carotid stent placement. Candidates for this are those who are unable to have the surgery due to other risk factors. It also reduces the risk of nerve injury.

“We are pleased to provide this advanced procedure at Lake Forest Hospital, which is more convenient for patients living in the northern suburbs,” said Tadaki Tomita, MD, vascular surgeon at Lake Forest Hospital, who performed the procedure with a team from the operating room and interventional suite. “Prior to this, many of my patients traveled downtown for this procedure, yet they lived in the northern suburbs. It’s exciting that we can offer our patients a new, convenient location to receive this state of the art procedure.” 

The patient that received the TCAR at Lake Forest Hospital was released 2 days after the procedure and is recovering well. TCAR was first introduced at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in May 2019 by Dr. Tomita.

“The TCAR procedure is another example of the continuous advancement in care physicians in the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute (BCVI) are able to offer patients in Northern Illinois,” said Ian Cohen, MD, FACC, FSCAI, medical director of BCVI at Lake Forest Hospital. “We are pleased that we have the capabilities to offer our patients treatments from one of the nation’s top cardiovascular programs in the country.”

Northwestern Memorial’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute is one of the top 10 national programs for cardiology and heart surgery, according to U.S. News and World Report, and ranked the top cardiovascular program in Illinois and the surrounding states for more than 10 consecutive years.

To book an appointment, or for more information, please visit Cardiovascular Care | Northwestern Medicine.