Doctors in a South Florida hospital are among the first in the U.S. performing stent procedures using a device that is designed to ‘disappear’ over time.

Cardiologists at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute at Baptist Hospital in Miami are now using the device, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this past July.

Every year, more than half a million Americans undergo stent procedures to widen coronary arteries narrowed by heart disease, putting them at risk for heart attack.

Stents are traditionally metal mesh, but this device, dubbed “Absorb,” is made from the same biodegradable material used in dissolvable sutures.

The stent is being made available first to medical centers such as Baptist, which participated in the clinical studies, says the manufacturer, Abbott, in Abbot Park, Ill.

This absorbable stent is a revolutionary advancement in the treatment of coronary artery disease,” says Dr. Ramon Quesada, who was principal investigator for the trials. “It benefits the patient by treating the diseased artery then gradually dissolving, leaving a healed artery that can pulse naturally, the way it was meant to function," he added.

The Absorb stent is now available in more 100 countries, including the United States, and has been used to treat more than 150,000 people with coronary artery disease worldwide, the company says.