ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to the letter by Mian Mohammad Imran titled “Pakistan and Malaysia” (August 12). I agree that Malaysia, which gained independence almost a decade after we did, has made significant strides in almost all walks of life compared with how we have fared. I would even concede that Malaysia has state-of-the-art medical facilities.
However, I would like to assure all Pakistanis that we in Pakistan are also doing successful complex angioplasties, including for triple vessel diseases, left main stem diseases, calcified vessels and those with severe left ventricular dysfunction. The coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and the Percutaneous Intervention (PCI) are advised on scientific grounds. Most patients advised to go for the CABG usually refuse it.
They prefer angioplasty even when they are told that it may not be successful or may just serve as a palliative. The CABG is the procedure of choice when the left main artery or its major branch, the Left Anterior Descending (LAD) artery, is involved. The PCI of the left main stem, triple vessel disease and the LAD with diffuse disease still serve as a palliative. Any patient with severe anatomical coronary vessel disease can have an angioplasty but what counts is its short-and long-term outcomes, which still favour the CABG.
Dr Ather Mehmood
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences
Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th, 2012.
