SS Narayana Health Super Specialty Centre Performs Central Karnataka's First Orbital Atherectomy

Davanagere: Two complex heart procedures, known as Orbital Atherectomy (OA), were successfully performed at SS Narayana Health Super Specialty Centre, Davanagere, marking a first for central Karnataka. These procedures were led by Dr. Dhananjay R.S, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, to treat severe calcified blockages in coronary arteries.

In one case, a 74-year-old man who had been experiencing chest pain for two days was diagnosed with heavily calcified blockages in his arteries. In another case, a 66-year-old hypertensive man suffered angina while at work in Hubballi. The patient initially went to other hospital but where they told him to undergo bypass graft. The next day, he came to the SS Narayana Health Super Speciailty Centre, where the patient's wife underwent successfull angioplasty for further consultation and treatment.

The doctors attending to him ran all the necessary tests and he was found to have similar calcified blockages as the first patient. Both of them required advanced treatment as their arteries had hardened due to calcium deposits, making regular angioplasty challenging.

To address this, Orbital Atherectomy was used to carefully shave off the calcium from the artery walls using a diamond-tipped device. This process allowed for smooth placement of stents to restore blood flow to the heart. The entire procedure lasted about 25-30 minutes in each case, before balloon angioplasty was performed.

Dr. Dhananjay explained, "Orbital Atherectomy is a cutting-edge technique that prepares heavily calcified arteries for angioplasty. It uses a high-speed device that rotates at 80,000-120,000 rotations per second, ensuring the arteries are cleared effectively and safely."

Both patients recovered well and were discharged on the third postoperative day.