PANAJI
Doctors at Healthway Hospital in Old Goa recently performed for the first time in Goa a complex angioplasty on a chronic kidney disease patient without the use of contrast media, a dye which can be harmful.Healthway's consultant cardiologist Dr Ajeya Mundhekar conducted the procedure with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), a cutting-edge technology that taps the medium of ultrasound to visualize an artery from the inside, thereby minimizing dependence on traditional contrast media, which can potentially damage kidneys.
According to Dr Mudhekar, who addressed the media earlier this week, the zero-contrast angioplasty, besides helping in accurate decision-making, the technique also prevents the risk of kidney failure and dialysis.
The availability of this procedure raises hopes of many kidney patients in Goa where almost 150 new kidney-related cases needing angioplasty are reported annually.
The procedure was performed on a 58-year-old male patient from Mapusa. The case involved long-standing uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and chronic kidney disease with elevated creatinine of 2.9.
The patient had also undergone angioplasty to his right coronary artery and his left anterior descending in 2008.
The Healthway Hospital team in Goa devised this first-of-its-kind surgical procedure with zero-contrast angioplasty.
“In this novel technique of zero-contrast angioplasty, we passed a wire into his arteries and for imaging, we used a camera-like device and performed IVUS in his artery. So, without using contrast, we were able to see his artery completely from the inside, how tight the blockages are, how long the blockages are, and traced the calcium deposits,” Dr Mundhekar said.
The cardiologist explained that zero-contrast angioplasty is a new technique gradually picking up in the West, especially for patients who have borderline or impaired renal function.
"This definitely brings a big hope in treating patients with chronic kidney disease. While the surgery can be performed on patients of all age groups, the zero-contrast angioplasty is particularly necessary for patients with impaired kidney function,” Dr Mudhekar adds.
