The first angioplasty using a Morph stent – the longest so far, was successfully done at Magnum Heart Institute in Nashik. The patient was operated 10 days ago and is recovering well, according to the surgeon who performed the operation.
The first angioplasty using a Morph stent – the longest so far, was successfully done at Magnum Heart Institute in Nashik. The patient was operated 10 days ago and is recovering well, according to the surgeon who performed the operation.
Dr Manoj Chopda, chief cardiac surgeon at Magnum Heart Institute, spoke to dna, saying Morph stent has been recently introduced in the world, and is the longest stent so far.
Earlier stents have been of length 38 mm, traditionally used for angioplasty, and the 43 and 48 mm stents followed. The Morph stent is 60 mm in length and has been used in a case in Nashik for the first time in Maharashtra, and is the fifth case in India. This stent was introduced in the markets last month.
The patient – a middle-aged woman – had come to the hospital with complaints of uneasiness, pain and profuse sweating. Her ECG indicated that she had had a heart attack. A 2D echo revealed that the upper portion of her heart was not functioning normally.
The angiography showed that the left artery supplying blood to her heart was completely blocked, while the central artery was 80% blocked. Conducting the angioplasty procedure in such a case was very risky. The patient's relatives, who had sought opinions from cardiac surgeons in Mumbai and Pune, were advised bypass surgery.
"On insistence of the relatives, we began considering angioplasty. The patient had diffused long segment disease. Angioplasty in such cases is challenging as changes of restenosis (narrowing of a blood vessel) are high. Fortunately, it was learnt that the Morph stent was available," said Dr Chopda.
The surgeon explained that previously, two stents would be used for long blocks, which would be risky. The new morph stent, he said, allows uniformity.
"Additionally, this new stent is able to maintain the natural curve of the artery. The stent has a 3 mm deflation at the start, 2.5 at the middle and tapers to 2 mm. This helps maintain the natural curve of the artery," Dr Chopda explained.
The decision was taken after giving a complete idea of the surgery and the risks involved to the patient's relatives. "The challenge was also that the block was 100%. I had to use a hard guide wire. I needed to see the channel properly and thus had to use antigrade and retrograde techniques to approach the block. The balloons were then dilated and the stent inserted," Dr Chopda stated.
The patient coped well during the surgery and is on the road to recovery now, added the doctor.
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