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A complex Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) intervention, an alternative to open heart surgery to clear 100 per cent blockage of coronary artery, was conducted on three patients by Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad.
The intervention was done in collaboration with surgeons from Kusatsu Heart Centre, Japan.
Plaque (cholesterol/calcium deposit) can build up within heart arteries and obstruct the free flow of blood. Historically, cardiologists have been able to open up arteries that have severe blockages, even up to 90 to 95 per cent through non-surgical procedures like angioplasty.
CTO is a 100 per cent blockage of a coronary artery existing for several months or years. Traditionally, open heart surgery has been the preferred treatment for bypassing such blocks.
This new technique, CTO Percutaneous Intervention, is a new option for such blocks. CTO interventions can aid cardiologists to open about 80 per cent of the CTOs without open heart surgery.
“CTO interventions are best option for blocks that seem to be totally beyond repair. Such interventions aid cardiologists to reduce the number of patients who have to undergo open heart surgery,” Dr V. Surya Prakasa Rao, HOD, Cardiology, Apollo, Hyderguda, said.
The Apollo surgeons said CTO interventions will be expensive by Rs 60,000-75,000, when compared to convention heart procedures.
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