CHENNAI: A 68-year-old man got a new lease of life thanks to the doctors at Apollo Speciality Hospital, Vanagaram, who opened 100% blocks in three major coronary arteries in his heart recently.
Narayanan, a retired government service employee, suffered polio as a child, which caused a disability in his left leg. So he was sceptical about vein harvesting from his other leg for bypass surgery. Instead, he preferred to take alternative medicine. “I tried many non-invasive treatments at various hospitals, but nothing worked. My condition deteriorated and I developed chest pain even if I walked a few metres. I also had breathlessness,” said Narayanan.
“When he approached us three years ago, we diagnosed blocks in two blood vessels, the coronary arteries,” said Dr Anand Gnanaraj, consultant interventional cardiologist at the hospital. “But, since the patient did not go for surgery, all the three blood vessels got affected.”
Doctors removed 100% blocks in a single sitting with angioplasty procedure and inserted stents. Now the patient is relieved of pain. “This is the first time in the four southern states — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — that three 100% blocks have been removed through angioplasty,” the doctor explained.
Earlier, bypass surgery was the only option for 100% block removal, explained Dr Anand, but now because of the specialised technology and dedicated expertise, blocks can be removed without open-heart surgery. Narayanan was discharged within two days of the procedure.