Fogarty arterial embolectomy catheter is a device developed in 1961 by Dr.

Thomas J. Fogarty Dr. Thomas J. "Tom" Fogarty (born February 25, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American surgeon and medical device inventor. He is best known for the invention of the embolectomy catheter (or balloon catheter), which revolutionized the treatment ...

to remove fresh

emboli An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule ( fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (gas embolism), amniotic fluid (amniot ...

in the

arterial system An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...

. It consists of a hollow tube with an inflatable balloon attached to its tip. The catheter is inserted into the

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...

through a clot. The balloon is then inflated to extract the clot from the vessel. It is available in different lengths and sizes, and is often colour coded by size. Because it is less invasive than ordinary surgery, it reduces the chance of postoperative complications. For removal of adherent material or fibrous material, Fogarty adherent clot catheter may be used.

References

{{reflist Surgical instruments Catheters