The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : New devices that can bring down amputations

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Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

New devices that can bring down amputations

Staff Reporter

85 per cent of these amputations
are preventable
Live surgeries were performed free of cost
on 20 patients at the workshop

Bangalore: Vascular disease is more dangerous than a heart attack, and persons with diabetes are 25 times more likely to have a leg amputated than those without the condition. But the good news is that 85 per cent of these amputations are preventable with the advent of new devices and techniques.

To discuss and create awareness about the disease and the new techniques such as “Frontrunner Catheter” among doctors and the public, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology organised a live workshop on “Pump Assisted Minimally Invasive bypass surgery” and an endovascular symposium on “Peripheral Angioplasty” at the hospital premises on Saturday.

Free surgery

Live surgeries were performed free of cost on nearly 20 patients during the workshop and devices worth Rs. 20 lakh were used for them. “Medicated stents that are usually used to treat blockage in arteries of the heart were used to treat the extreme blockages in the leg,” Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology C.N. Manjunath told presspersons on the sidelines of the workshop.

Pointing out that coronary artery disease is steadily increasing in India both among the urban and rural population, Dr. Manjunath said, “While the main focus is always on heart attack-related blockages, many patients also suffer from blockages of arteries in the leg, kidney, brain and upper limbs. People with diabetes and cholesterol, and who smoke are under the risk of getting vascular disease. But early intervention and proper treatment can help prevent amputations,” he said. A team of doctors, including the Director of Vascular Medicine and Interventions, USA, Bhagath K. Reddy and Consultant Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon from Ohio Joseph Sabik, along with other doctors performed the surgeries that were telecast live to participants in the auditorium. “Though 10 per cent of the 30 million diabetics in the country develop foot problems, it is unfortunate that a majority of them report at an advanced stage,” said B.C. Srinivas of St. John’s Medical College.

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