Now, heart patients with 100 per cent blocked arteries can also venture for angioplasty. A Japanese technique will allow cardiologists at the SGPGI to treat such patients without surgery. In a workshop held at the institute on Thursday, eight operations were successfully conducted with this technique.

“The new technique, which the Japanese doctors have brought with them, uses retrograde approach for angioplasty. Angioplasty is not common in 100 per cent blockage due to its low success rate. But with this technique, we expect the success rate to be around 80 per cent,” said Dr P K Goel, senior cardiologist at SGPGI. There are two methods to approach a blocked artery — one being from the main opening called ante grade and another from another branching artery called retro grade. When the ante grade approach is not possible due to severe blockage, retro grade approach is used. In complicated cases, the techniques can also be used together, he added.

New techniques like Intra Vascular Ultrasound were also used with the retro grade technique to operate on the patients in the workshop — which is a part of a three-day annual conference of the Indian College of Cardiology. Dr Kinzo Ueda and Dr Masahisa Yamane from Japan demonstrated the technique in the workshop. “In this technique, hydrophilic wires, which are more flexible and can easily slip through bends and float through the occlusions, are used. Micro-ultrasound machines are placed at the top of the wire, which allow an inside look at the artery walls,” Goel said.

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