There is some good news for the patients of Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) — an advanced stage of coronary artery disease — as the problem can be cured by angioplasty instead of a bypass, something which had not been possible earlier.

During a workshop organised by B M Birla Heart Research Centre on Tuesday, over half a dozen such cases were treated by angioplasty. Cardiologists from Japan, a country which has pioneered the technology of treating Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) through angioplasty, are in Kolkata and they have been interacting with cardiologists from different hospitals. “In Japan, patients don’t want to undergo bypass surgery because of some myths. However, with time we have had to operate angioplasty on CTO patients,” said Toshiyo Muramatsu, a cardiologist from Japan who shared his experiences with Indian doctors.