Angiography is a diagnostic test done under fluoroscopy to determine blockages in the coronary or peripheral arteries. A radio-opaque agent is injected into the body, and the fluoroscope takes running images of the flow of that agent to detect blockages. It is a 5-10-minute procedure done under local anesthesia.
Balloon angioplasty of the coronary artery, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), was introduced in the late 1970s. PTCA is a non-surgical procedure that relieves narrowing and obstruction of the arteries to the heart (coronary arteries). This allows more blood and oxygen to be delivered to the heart muscle.
Time Taken:
1-2 hours or more depending on condition and number of arteries to be opened.
Duration of Hospital Stay: 1-3 days after procedure.
A pacemaker is implanted in the upper chest, with leads inserted into various chambers of the heart. This procedure corrects arrhythmias, such as Bradycardia (slow heart rate) and Tachycardia (very high heart rate). The pacemaker is a battery-operated device designed to regulate the heart’s rhythm.
Time Taken: 1-3 hours depending on kind of device implanted.
Duration of Hospital Stay: Normally 2-4 days post implant.
A kidney transplant is required for a patient suffering from end-stage renal failure.
End-stage renal failure is a condition where the kidneys fail to the point that they can no longer function and sustain life.
Dialysis is a method of artificial blood filtration.
Kidney transplant involves replacing one or both failing kidneys with a functional kidney from a donor.
A donor is carefully selected by surgeons based on tissue and blood compatibility.
Liver transplant involves replacing a diseased liver with a healthy liver from a donor.
Liver transplant is often recommended when other treatments fail.
The surgical procedure for liver transplant involves multiple surgeons and anesthetists.
The cornea is the transparent layer at the front of the eye.
Cornea transplant is a surgical operation that replaces the diseased cornea with one from a donor.
The cornea may become cloudy or deformed due to injury or infection.
The procedure is performed by an ophthalmologist and is often done on an outpatient basis.
Bone marrow transplant is an intensive treatment used to treat certain cancers such as leukemia.
Bone marrow is responsible for the production of blood cells.
There are two main types of transplants - autologous and allogeneic.
In autologous transplantation, the patient’s own bone marrow or stem cells are used.
In allogeneic transplantation, bone marrow is provided by an external donor.
Radio Therapy or Radiation Therapy refers to the treatment of cancer through Ionizing Radiation to kill or contain the malignant cancer cells.
The Hospitals are equipped with the latest machines and equipment to impart radiation therapy.
It is a kind of Cancer treatment, which by injecting certain Antineoplastic drugs in the body, can kill cancer cells.
The conventional Chemotherapy has known side effects and now there are newer drugs, which directly act against the abnormal proteins in the cancer cells. This is called Targeted.
Bariatric surgery commonly known as weight-loss surgery is done on patients who are extremely obese and would not achieve weight loss through conventional diet plans or exercise.
In this surgery, a Gastric Band is implanted on the stomach to reduce its size or a portion of the stomach is removed surgically or by resecting and re-routing the small intestines to a small stomach pouch (Gastric Bye Pass Surgery).
Bariatric surgery is usually considered for patients who have BMI of over 40kg/m2 and have not responded to the diet and exercise plan and are also suffering from other cardiovascular risk factors.
The long-term results have shown these kinds of surgeries to be helpful in weight loss and recovery from diabetes and other such cardiovascular risks.
These surgeries are now very simple surgeries and usually done laparoscopically.
In few patients who have almost lost their hearing ability or are profoundly deaf, an electronic device can be surgically implanted that provides a sense of sound. This device implant is called Cochlear Implant (CI) or also known as Bionic Ear.
The deafness or severe loss of hearing which is generally caused by some accident or damage to the sensory hair cells in cochlea can be improved by Cochlear Implants. In those patients, they can often enable sufficient hearing to allow better understanding of speech.
The quality of sound is different from natural hearing, with less sound information being received and processed by the brain. However, many patients are able to hear and understand speech and environmental sounds.
Over the last few years, the devices have improved a lot and the newer devices and processing algorithms and software strategies have produced better quality of sound, especially in noise, and patients can now even enjoy music and use their implant processors while swimming.
The high cost of the implant and post-implant therapy is a detriment in the extensive usage of such procedures. But we can see a few patients who have also bilateral Cochlear Implants suggesting implants in both ears. The ENT specialist after doing a series of tests on the profound deaf patients identifies the right candidate for such implants.
IVF or In Vitro Fertilization is a process in which an egg is fertilized by a sperm outside the body. This treatment option is for those in whom all other methods of assistive reproductive techniques have failed.
Woman's natural cycle is monitored to collect eggs for fertilization. The eggs are fertilized with human sperms in a controlled environment, and the fertilized egg is planted in the patient's uterus to obtain a successful pregnancy.
If the first cycle of IVF does not succeed, there could be a few more IVF cycles performed to achieve a sustainable pregnancy.
