Berhampur: Doctors at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here have successfully conducted surgery on a heart patient with electrophysiology (EP) method. The EP method, a test performed to assess the electrical system or activity in a person’s heart, is used to diagnose abnormal heartbeats or arrhythmia. The procedure is performed by inserting catheters and then wire electrodes, which measure electrical activity, into the heart through the blood vessels and treatment is done through radio frequency.
Notably, natural electrical impulses coordinate contractions of the different parts of the heart. This creates the heartbeat, or heart rhythm and keeps blood flowing the way it should. The surgery was performed under the direct supervision of Professor Dr Chhabi Satapathy, head of the Cardiology department in the hospital, and cardiology experts from Vishakhapatnam in the presence of all doctors and staff of the department.
Speaking to media persons, Dr Satapathy said the surgery costs around Rs 2 lakh in private hospitals. “The surgery being successfully performed at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital has brought glory for us,” he added. He said the costly procedure could be performed on patients suffering from abnormal heartbeats in future if the higher authorities provide them with the necessary equipment. The heartbeat of a normal person ranges from 60 to 100 per minute but people having heart problems often experience abnormal heartbeats exceeding 150 per minute. The hospital has an EP machine to identify the disease but they lack some essential equipment to carry out the treatment. As a result, it was difficult to treat heart patients on a regular basis and doctors at the hospital had to refer them to other hospitals.
Earlier, doctors at the Cardiology department in the hospital under the direct supervision of Dr Satapathy have performed complicated surgeries like intra-vascular ultrasound (IVUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intra-aortic balloon pump.