Health Minister K.K. Shylaja will inaugurate the second Cath Lab at the Cardiology Department of Government Medical College Hospital on Friday.
The new Cath Lab has been set up at ₹5.5 crore, with sophisticated Artis zee system of Siemens. It has the most modern intra-vascular ultrasound and has the facilities for performing iFR (instantenous wave-free ratio) as well as FFR (Fractional Flow Reserve) for better evaluation of coronary stenosis.
The Thiruvananthapuram MCH is the only public sector facility with two Cath labs. The new facility will enable the Cardiology Department to bring down its long waiting list for procedures, besides helping it offer emergency angioplasty for more patients.
The Cath lab at MCH has been working round-the-clock through the year. Last year, it performed 3,600 angioplasties, 2,500 angiogram, implanted 170 people with pacemakers, and performed over 50 septal heart defect closures.
The first Cath Lab at MCH was set up in 1997. This was replaced by a sophisticated version in 2009.
