A Workshop on the Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) was organised at Apollo Specialty Hospitals Vanagaram in the presence of world renowned Cardiologist, Dr. Tomohiko Teramoto. The workshop was attended by 50 doctors including 30 Cardiologists in which advanced techniques in Interventional Cardiology were discussed.
Dr. Tomohiko Teramoto is one of the pioneers in the field of Complex Coronary Intervention and has successfully performed several thousands of Complex Coronary Interventions and trained several cardiologists in such procedures.
Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO) occurs when the coronary artery is completely blocked with fatty deposits inside its walls for more than 3 months causing chest pain and breathlessness. These blocks are made up of hardened tissues that are difficult to cross using routine guide wires and balloon catheters. Worldwide, CTO is considered the last resort in cardiac intervention procedures. The success rate of an angioplasty procedure in such cases depends upon specialized training, experience, and innovative devices designed specifically for CTO.
Treatment of multiple, severe blocks including long segment blocks, small blood vessel blocks and 100% blocks called CTOs are lot more successful nowadays with improved devices that are available. Unlike the routine angioplasty, the Japanese have developed highly specialised wires, balloons and catheters that are specifically used for treating CTO.
The event demonstrated the latest equipment used in the most skillful way to treat coronary artery disease. The workshop witnessed consultant cardiologists from Chennai and out of Chennai who participated in the live workshop organised by Apollo Specialty Hospital Vanagaram.
Presenting couple of recent successful procedures, Dr. Harikrishnan Parthasarathy, Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Specialty Hospital Vanagaram said, “Coronary artery disease is an epidemic and there is a worrying increase in younger population in India. This is mainly due to improper lifestyle and bad food habits. Drug eluting stents have revolutionized coronary artery disease treatment and outcomes are comparable to bypass surgery with reduced risk to life. We have worked in collaboration with the doctors from Japan in various cases for successfully treating such difficult blocks.”
Apollo Hospitals group was the pioneer in India to launch the first center dedicated to the field of Chronic Total Occlusions (CTO) offering angioplasty procedures for 100% blocked arteries. The CTO center has the best technology and the latest equipments like IVUS, a technology that is used in very few centers across the country to assist in CTO procedures. IVUS technology is the most powerful and safe tool to perform these complex procedures. Apollo Specialty Hospitals Vanagaram has performed many successful CTO procedures over the years as it offers best technologies including IVUS cardiac catheterization suites, CT Coronary Angiography, Cardiac MRI and Coronary guide wires, micro-catheters, balloons and Intra Vascular Ultra Sound (IVUS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).
