Six patients undergo low cost stent procedures in workshop at JNMC, Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh: Even as the world continues to suffer from more transmissible strains of the coronavirus; the otherwise bleak winter has been bliss for six poor patients. They underwent successful stent procedures at affordable costs during a workshop on ‘Complex Stenting Procedures’ organised by the Department of Cardiology, J N Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

“Stents were given at low cost to these patients suffering from cardiovascular issues. These six people were candidates for open-heart bypass surgery,” said Prof M U Rabbani, Chairman, Department of Cardiology.

He added that at least one of these patients went through the intricate rotablation technique procedure, in which a special catheter, with an acorn-shaped, diamond-coated tip, is guided to the point of the narrowing in the coronary artery. The tip spins at a high speed and grinds away the plaque on the artery walls.

According to Prof Rabbani, “These patients suffered ‘Left Main Coronary Artery Disease’. They had totally blocked coronary arteries of long duration and coronary arteries with deposition of high calcium. Angioplasty (Stenting) in these patients has been possible with the use of advanced technologies such as coronary vessel imaging with Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) and a newer technique of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).”

Prof Rabbani pointed out that stent procedures are not only complex, but they are also done on exorbitant charges at super-specialty hospitals in metropolitan cities.

“However, with economical treatments on offer at JNMC, patients from the lower-economic strata can breathe a sigh of relief,” he asserted.

Prof Rabbani further said that JNMC has been one of the few medical institutes in the country, which has been conducting medical procedures despite the Covid 19 restrictions.

“JNMC Cath lab remained fully functional after a surge in Covid cases and hundreds of patients benefitted from cardiology teleconsultation services on the helpline number, 7599050505 during the lockdown period. A total of 900 cardiac procedures have been done in the Cath lab since March,” he stated.

Dr Viveka Kumar (Director, Interventional Cardiology, Max Saket Hospital, New Delhi) helped to conduct the workshop. Boston Scientific, USA and Medtronics USA provided the technical support and logistics for the workshop.

Prof Asif Hasan, Prof M M Azharuddin and Dr M Rafi Anwar delineated the purpose and procedure of stents. They explained how stents keep blocked arteries from closing.