Interventional neuro radiology faciltiy now available in city

Patients from the city do not have to run to Hyderabad or Chennai to consult an interventional neuro (IN) radiologist in future.

The Aayush Hospitals – Multi speciality Hospital - now has a trained IN radiologist for the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, brain arteriovenous malformations, carotid-cavernous fistulas and many other such neurological ailments.

The IN radiologist is to the brain what the interventional cardiologist is to the heart. They attend to all blood flow problems in the brain using similar equipment.

Aayush managing director and chief cardiologist K. Gopala Krishna addressing a press conference here on Saturday said Aayush Hospitals was in the forefront of interventional radiology in coastal Andhra.

Hospital IN radiologists K. Lakshmi Prasanna is a student of the King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. She got her training in advanced INR from world renowned, Germany-based interventional neuro radiologist Rene Chapot.

Aayush is the only hospital in coastal Andhra which has an IN radiologist. While other hospitals have simple interventional radiologists, Aayush, was the first to have an IN radiologist, Dr. Gopala Krishna said.

Dr Gopala Krishna also introduced to the media a 74-year-old patient, who he claimed was the “first to undergo” Rotablation in the city. Rotablation was a minimally invasive procedure for removing calcified plaque from blood vessels of the heart.

Rotablation involved breaking of calcified (hard) plaque in the hardened coronary arteries using a diamond burr.

The diamond burr is sent into the coronary artery with the help of guide wire and then rotated at the tremendous speeds of 1.6 to 2 lakh (RMP) revolutions per minute. The diamond burr chips away the calcified plaque which is later absorbed by the body, he said.

After removing the calcified plaque a drug eluting stent (DES) was placed in the coronary artery of the patient who had already undergone bypass surgery once, Dr Gopala Krishna said.

Dr Gopala Krishna said the hospitals had introduced many advanced interventional procedures in cardiology like Rotablation, CTO Angioplasty, left main coronary angioplasty and post bypass angioplasty using filters.