Cardiologists from Rashid Hospital performed two live procedures which were transmitted live at Gulf PCR-Gulf European Angioplasty congress, which recently concluded in Dubai, UAE.

 

Rashid Hospital’s cath lab was selected for the live transmission and more than 1,000 delegates comprising of top interventional cardiologists from Gulf and Europe witnessed the live procedures which were the latest techniques in interventional cardiology, said a statement.

 

The live transmission of cardiology procedures provides cardiologists with an opportunity to see the procedures as if they are present in the cath lab and presents them an opportunity to witness techniques shown by experienced and skilled cardiologists. 

 

World over, transmission of such procedures from centres of excellence is being done as an effective educational tool.

 

Dr Fahad Baslaib, consultant interventional cardiologist and director of Rashid Hospital's cardiology department performed the procedures, said: “We performed the first procedure on a 60 year old patient with multiple blockages. Angioplasty with stenting was done using the latest technology in stenting.

 

“The only other option this patient had was open heart surgery which is an invasive procedure and that patient was opposed to it. In fact, latest research shows that in such cases the outcome of stenting is the same as that of open heart surgery and stenting is minimally invasive which means patient recovery time is also much faster."

 

 

The second procedure was performed on a young 37-year old patient with diabetes who had multiple blockages," said Dr Baslaib.

 

“One artery was 99 per cent blocked and the second one was 95 per cent blocked, moreover, a significant length of that artery was blocked. The first artery was fixed with two stents using the bifurcation technique. The other artery was unblocked using three absorbable stents and the procedure was done with the help of the latest radiology procedure called optical coherence tomography (OCT) which allows cardiologists to get absolute detailed information about the dissection, stent apposition etc.  This helps in complete precision which leads to better patient outcomes," he said.

 

Baslaib added that for the stents where self-absorbing stenting procedure was done, the stent dissolve in the body over time and yet manage to keep blocked arteries open.

 

"This procedure is particularly beneficial for younger patients as the scaffold dissolves in the body over time. This means that the patient can go opt for further forms of treatment in future, something that inserting a metal stent does not allow,” he said.

 

“Our eventual aim is to keep patients away from surgery as long as it is possible," said Dr Baslaib. 

 

“In this region, heart attacks take place earlier than the west and we diagnose patients who are quite young with blocked arteries and other such problems. We are very advanced with our forms of minimally invasive treatments, especially for such patients, however, the point is that prevention is better than cure and people, especially young productive adults, should keep themselves healthy,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service