Why do we need Rotablation?
Coronary heart disease. A disease which kills over 18 million people, annually, in the world. Responsible for almost 32% of global deaths, this is the most common type of heart disease that mankind continues to face. In India alone, about 62 million people suffered from this disease in 2015 and this number continues to rise. Coronary heart disease (a.k.a. coronary artery disease) is when the blood vessels supplying the heart get blocked due to the buildup of fatty deposits. This causes loss of blood supply to the heart resulting in the death of heart tissues and the subsequent loss of heart function which in most cases, leads to death. So, what can we as medical professionals do?
Well, the obvious plan of action would be to keep these blood vessels open, which can be done in 2 ways. Angioplasty, which is the forceful pushing of these fatty deposits, to the walls of the blood vessels using a balloon, and Rotablation.
What is Rotablation?
Rotablation, or rotational atherectomy, refers to the cutting away of fatty deposits, using a spinning blade or drill.This procedure involves the insertion of a long thin catheter into an artery in the groin or wrist under local anesthetic. The catheter is moved up the inside of the artery until it reaches the heart. When the catheter is in place, a small amount of dye will be injected into it. X-rays will be taken as the dye travels through the coronary arteries. A specially designed burr, lined with diamond cuers that can cut the calcium and fatty plaque into red blood sized particles, is used to grind away the blockage. Rotablation is used when the fatty deposit, or “plaque” is too rigid to be pushed to the sides by the expansion of a balloon, as occurs in angioplasty. Once Rotablation is done, further opening of the vessel can be done using the normal process of Angioplasty. Hence Rotablation can be viewed as the final frontier of non-invasive procedures that can be done to treat coronary heart disease.
Where is Rotablation done in India?
Rotablation is a procedure that requires skilled hands and sufficient amounts of experience due to the nature of the procedure. Hence not a lot of doctors perform his procedure. However, at Symbiosis hospital, Dr. Ankur Phatarpekar, a brilliant cardiovascular surgeon, performs this procedure with expert and safe hands. Rotablation is only required in 5% of all patients that require angioplasty, but for those that do require this procedure, they can be assured that at Symbiosis hospital, they will get the best of care and are sure to make a speedy recovery afterwards.
