A patient with very tight and hard blockage in one of his heart’s main arteries-left circumflex artery- got a new lease of life after a successful rotablation at Krishna Hospital by Park Group of Hospitals, Bathinda.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Dr. Rohit Mody, senior director cardiovascular science said that this artery supplies blood to the back and side of the heart. In this case, the blockage was heavily calcified, meaning it had become hard like stone due to calcium deposits building up over time. This is not uncommon, especially in elderly patients, those with diabetes, or long-standing cholesterol problems, he informed.
Dr. Mody said,” To deal with this, we used a specialized tool called a rotablator, in a process known as rotational atherectomy or simply ‘rota’. This device has a tiny, diamond-tipped drill that spins at a very high speed of over 150,000 revolutions per minute. It gently grinds the hardened calcium into microscopic particles, allowing us to open the blockage and make space for the balloon and stent. It’s like using a dental drill to remove tough tartar from your teeth—but inside a heart artery.”
Dr. Mody further said that in a normal angioplasty, we pass a small wire into the blocked artery, then use a balloon to open it and place a stent to keep it open. But when the blockage is extremely hard and tight, the balloon and stent can’t pass through.
We successfully drilled through the calcium and placed a stent with blood flow that was fully restored, he said .
These advanced tools have revolutionized the treatment of complex heart blockages, helping save lives and prevent major heart attacks in patients who would otherwise require open-heart surgery or be left untreated, Dr. Mody asserted.
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