But their doubts were put to rest when they came to know that a hole in the heart can now be closed without surgery. St John's Medical College Hospital will conduct a workshop on April 2 and 3 in which teams of doctors from the United States, Britain and France will demonstrate the procedure wherein holes in the heart will be closed without a surgery.

What is commonly referred to as `hole in the heart', is in medical terms `Atrial Septal Defect' which means a hole between the two upper chambers of the heart that separate pure and impure blood. If left untreated, it can cause more damage to the heart.

Till sometime back, it took an open heart surgery to rectify this disorder. But now through a blood vessel in the thigh, a device is introducedinto the heart with the help of specially-designed catheters. The device, after being placed on the hole, plugs it. Apart from a needle prick, there is no pain at all, and the patient can return home in a day or two.

Pediatric surgeon Dr Ravi Narayan of St John's Hospital and the workshop organising secretary said the procedure is done without general anesthesia in most cases. ``Holes up to three cm can be closed using the device.''

More details can be had from Dr Ravi Narayan (Ph: 553 0724 extension 363).