‘Minimally-invasive cardiac surgeries are need of the hour’

Apollo Hospitals organised a workshop to enable cardiologists to look at advanced techniques in interventional cardiology

Doctors are increasingly looking at minimally-invasive techniques for performing complex cardiac cases to avoid risk of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

“Handling difficult cardiac cases needs expertise. For instance, a person with three blocks could be classified as a complex case. People prefer minimally-invasive surgeries to avoid complications of CABG such as infections and strokes,” said P. Harikrishnan, senior consultant interventional cardiologist, Apollo Specialty Hospitals, Vanagaram, on Wednesday.

He said unlike in bypass surgery, in which the heart should be stopped and restarted, minimally-invasive procedures enabled entry through a small cut in the arm and opening the block using a tube.

“If a person has a block for a long time, it is difficult to open as it would have become rock solid — calcified. We have special drilling techniques like a diamond drill which can go through blockages,” he said.

The hospital organised a workshop on international complex coronary intervention on Wednesday to enable cardiologists to look at advanced techniques in interventional cardiology.

It showcased treatment methods for difficult cases including blocked stents, chronically-occluded arteries and highly-calcified arteries.

Yuichi Noguchi, general vice-president of Tsukua Medical Centre and clinical professor of Tsukuba University Hospital, Japan, who was here to participate in the workshop, said coronary heart diseases were increasing across the world. “In open-heart surgeries, the hospital stay is about two to three weeks. It is at times risky, especially in patients with complications such as diabetes. Hence, minimally-invasive procedures are a good option. The patient can be discharged in a day or two,” he said.

Doctors in countries like Japan and South Korea were performing several procedures through minimally-invasive techniques, he said.

“We have been performing procedures like retrograde technique and optical coherence tomography for nearly a year. We are learning from doctors abroad,” said Dr. Harikrishnan.

About 50 to 60 cardiologists from across the country participated in the workshop, while hospitals in Vellore, Neyveli and Hyderabad were connected via telemedicine facility for the workshop.

N. Sathyabhama, director of medical services, Apollo Hospitals-Chennai region, and K.A. Abraham, director of medical services, Apollo Specialty Hospitals, Vanagaram, were also present.