A pioneering technique which could save thousands of patients from having heart surgery has been performed in Scotland for the first time by one of the world's leading cardiologists.
The method of opening blocked arteries, which was devised in Japan, was demonstrated to dozens of doctors from across the country at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.
A 69-year-old man was the patient used on Wednesday to demonstrate the new technique. He was suffering from chronic total occlusion, which means a blocked artery.
Instead of having to undergo bypass surgery, which could mean up to ten days in hospital and three months recovery, the new procedure could mean the man will go home on Thursday and back to normal by the end of the week.
The man was wide awake as one of the world's leading cardiologists, Professor Masahiko Ochiai, inserted tiny wires into his leg and up to his heart. Two hours later, the operation was finished and was hailed a complete success.
Professor Ochiai said: "By opening the chronic total occlusion, we can save many patients who should have originally received bypass surgery. The chronic total occlusion is the main reason for bypass surgery, so we can avoid surgical treatment."
Keith Oldroyd from the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, added: "In an average year in Scotland, somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 patients have bypass surgery which is about one third of the patients who need treatment for the their heart disease.
"Now, in Japan, it is only two or three per cent of patients who have bypass surgery. So in Scotland, potentially, thousands of patients could benefit from this technique."
To clear the blockage, Professor Ochiai uses what is called a retrograde approach. If the blockage is in the left coronary artery, instead of trying to clear it from above he feeds wires down the right artery into tiny vessels and then up the left artery where the blockage should be softer and easier to remove.
In an auditorium, doctors from across the country were able to watch and listen as the Professor explained his technique while performing the procedure.
Last updated: 11 November 2009, 21:41
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