At the third offering in Eastern Plumas Health Care’s Community Health Education Series, Dr. Milind Dhond talked on Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD), better known as hardening of the arteries.

He showed how far new technologies aimed at repairing and restoring arteries has come in the last 15 years. A procedure that would have taken up to four hours and landed the patient in the hospital for five days can now be done in 45 minutes, with the patient going home the same day. Among the many fascinating technological advances, attendees saw how miniature lasers on a miniscule wire can be sent into arteries through a catheter. The lasers can burn away blockages in even the tiniest of arteries. This can mean the difference between keeping your leg, for example, and having it amputated.

Of the 25 people in attendance, many have been coming to every one of these talks and are looking forward to the next in the series (“Getting Forgetful?” with Dr. Colin Kopes-Kerr). The audience was very engaged in the subject matter, asking Dr. Dhond many questions about PVD as it relates to their own health concerns.