Interventional device developer W.L. Gore & Associates said that its Viabahn Endoprosthesis with Heparin Bioactive Surface, a stent graft designed to open blockages in the superficial femoral artery in the thigh, was successfully implanted late last month.

The peripheral arterial disease (PAD) stent procedure was performed at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, by Gary Ansel, MD, an interventional cardiologist.

The stent features Gore-Tex fabric to stop tissue from growing inside it and has the blood thinning medication Heparin as part of the device lining, Gore said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of the stent in August to relieve hardening of the thigh artery, according to the Flagstaff, Ariz.-based Gore.