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Raipur, May 3, 2025: The cardiologists and their team of Advanced Cardiac Institute of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, have once again created a new history at the national level.
Angioplasty of a 70-year-old patient, which had failed in a private hospital, was done using laser cut (Excimer Laser Coronary Angioplasty (ELCA)) technique.
Its live demonstration was also seen by other cardiologists of the country, including at Jabalpur.
Chhattisgarh has once again gained international fame in the field of health care through this live workshop organized on a virtual platform.
Under the leadership of Dr. Smit Srivastava, Head of Cardiology Department, and his team Dr. Kunal Ostwal, Dr. S K Sharma and Dr. Pratik Gupta, along with nursing staff Neelima, Vandana, Nirmala, Purnima, technician Jitendra, Badri, Prem and medical social worker Khogendra Sahu played important role in making this work a success.
The patient was treated under the Chief Minister’s Special Assistance Scheme.
Excimer Laser Coronary Angioplasty (ELCA) cut is a special type of angioplasty, in which blockages (plaque, thrombus) in the coronary arteries are removed using laser. It is used in cases where traditional balloon angioplasty or stenting is not sufficient.
According to Dr Smit Srivastava, a 73-year-old man had a blockage in his right coronary artery. An angioplasty attempt was made on the patient in a private hospital but the procedure failed. There was so much calcium deposited in the patient’s artery that the angioplasty wire could not cross due to calcium (balloon non-crossable). Also, the origin of the right coronary artery was not from its original place but at a height. This was the second complication in this case.
According to Dr. Smit Srivastava this the patient came to ACI located in Ambedkar Hospital. Looking at the condition of the patient, we suggested doing angioplasty by breaking the calcium with the Excimer Laser Coronary Angioplasty (ELCA) method.
The catheter was taken to the heart vein through the artery of the patient’s right hand. The blockage of the vein was crossed with very heavy and hard wires and the frozen calcium was broken and moved forward using the excimer laser. From there a way was made for the balloon to pass.
After this, by doing sonography inside the heart vein with Coronary Intra Vascular Ultra Sonography (IVUS), which is the latest process of angiography, the remaining calcium was marked and using a special cutting balloon like a sharp knife, the calcium was cut as if a machine cuts a rock and makes a tunnel. After the calcium was completely broken, a way was made for the stent to pass and the angioplasty process was completed by placing two stents.
During this, cardiologists from all over the country saw this procedure live and also resolved their doubts by asking questions.
According to Dr. Smit, a national level conference of the Cardiological Society of India has been organized in Jabalpur. On their request, we contributed to making the workshop successful by demonstrating this case live, which was appreciated all over the country.
