For the first time in the history of Kerala, a patient who was affected by gangrene on the leg and on the verge of getting his leg amputated was rescued and brought back to normal life at the Little Flower Hospital here by applying rotablator method, said the hospital authorities on Monday.
According to them, K V Joseph, from Chalakkudy, was brought to the hospital in a very serious condition. Dr Stigy Joseph, who has taken advanced training in interventional cardiology in Paris, opted for the rotablator technology for removing the calcium deposit found in the artery leading to the leg.
Dr Stigy said that the leg was in a state of decay as the blood flow had completely ceased.
The balloon method could not be used in this particular case since the area had become stony due to accumulation of calcium, said the doctor.
The hospital authorities explained that the rotablator is usually applied when a cardiovascular block is detected and has to be removed, but this is the first time in the medical history of Kerala that the rotablator is being used to remove the block in a limb.
The blood flow to the leg has now been restored, and the patient has been saved from losing a limb.