Joseph “Joe” Berkery, 46, is a retired firefighter who spent years serving as a first responder and diver before an on-the-job injury led to the loss of his left eye and left leg. Recently, severe vascular disease threatened his remaining leg, until doctors at St. Peter’s stepped in with a new treatment option.
Surgeons Dr. William Raible and Dr. Yaron Sternbach performed the LimFlow procedure, a minimally invasive technique that reroutes blood flow by turning veins into functioning arteries. The approach restores circulation in patients who would otherwise face major amputation.
“I just went by what the doctor told me, that it’s experimental, it’s never been done in this area, so I trusted him,” Berkery said. “I just lost the leg before that, the other one, and if it had been another six months before, they probably could have saved both legs.”…