A thrombectomy is a procedure used to remove a blood clot from a blood vessel. The vessel is usually an artery. A blood clot in an artery can block blood flow to the tissue the artery supplies, which may cause tissue damage and death if the clot is not removed. A thrombectomy device is a catheter with a special tip that can remove blood clots. A rheolytic thrombectomy uses a catheter with saline jets to suction the blood clot out o the vessel.

Figure 1: Placement of a thrombectomy device to remove a blood clot from a coronary artery.

Figure 2: Rheolytic thrombectomy.