Novel technique used to remove artery blockages in Jodhpur heart patient

Doctors at a government hospital here said they have removed blockages in the arteries of an 80-year-old heart patient by using a novel technique introduced in India recently. This is the first time the technique, called Intravascular Shock Wave Lithotripsy, has been used to carry out the procedure in any government hospital in Northern India, the doctors said.

According to Sanjeev Sanghvi, Heads of Department (Cardiology), MDM Hospital in Jodhpur is one of the few hospitals in India, which have used the technique so far. Sanghvi said the patient, Chandra Shekhar Bohra, was hospitalized on February 6 with a complaint of chest pain while walking.

"When we examined the patient, we found three blockages in his coronary arteries after angiography scans, but there were multiple limitations barring us to administer either the angioplasty or the by-pass surgery as all these blockages were calcified," said Sanghvi. Coronary arteries are the blood vessels that transport oxygenated blood to the heart.

Calcium deposition in artery walls can restrict blood flow to the heart muscle by physically clogging the artery. Without breaking the calcium deposit, the doctors noted, even the stents would not have entered the blocked arteries.

A stent is a tiny tube that doctors insert into a blocked passageway to keep it open. Even if the stents could be placed in the arteries, they would not have dilated properly, rendering the procedure worthless, and subjecting the patient to higher risk, they said.

Sanghvi noted that usually elderly patients have more calcium deposits, and intervention at a higher age is always risky. "So we decided to use the all-new technology, the Intravascular Shock Wave Lithotripsy, to de-calcify the arteries before proceeding with stent installation, and we successfully conducted the entire procedure in just 45 minutes," said Sanghvi.

He said three stents have been installed in the patient at all the three blockages, and the patient is recovering fast. Pawan Sarda, Associate Professor (Cardiology) at MDM Hospital said the technique uses a balloon that carries an ultrasonic transmitter, which emits sonic pressure waves or sound waves, that break the calcium deposition in the arteries.

"This technique breaks calcium, making stent implantation easier, and stents are properly expanded," Sarda said. He said that this technique was first unveiled in the US in June 2017, and was introduced in India in January this year.

"This is first such procedure with this technique in any government hospital in entire Northern India," Sarda added.