Workshop on alcohol ablation

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, MARCH 31. A medical workshop on a form of cardiac intervention, the alcohol ablation technique, will be held here on April 6 and 7.

Alcohol ablation or `Percutaneous Transluminal Septal Myocardial Ablation' is a technical advancement that has improved the quality of life of many patients suffering from a heart condition referred to as Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM), according to Dr. Pratap. C. Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals.

HOCM is a cardiac disorder which occurs in about one per cent of the population. But half these patients do not show any symptoms. Sudden deaths are a common feature in individuals whose family has a history of the disease, said Dr. K. Subramanyan, consultant cardiologist.

Till now, there were only three modes of treatment available to HOCM patients-drugs, surgery and pace makers. But since the ablation technique was developed in 1994, it had become an alternative to surgery in patients who did not show improvement with drugs, he added.

So far Apollo has tried out the method in seven patients and as many as 10 patients would undergo the ablation technique during the course of the workshop said Dr.Mathew Samuel, consultant cardiologist.

Dr. Reddy said the workshop would consist of interactive sessions and presentations. As many as 300 cardiologists from the Asia Pacific countries have already registered for the workshop. Prof. Horst J. Kuhn, a pioneer in the field who did a procedure on the Union Minister, Mr. Murasoli Maran, would lead the surgeries.

Dr. I. Sathyamurthy, cardiologist, explained the benefits of the technique over the existing one and said the workshop was being organised since the technique was still in the evolving phase in India. Dr. P. Ramachandran, cardiologist, said some of the delegates would also bring their HOCM patients for treatment during the course of the workshop.

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