Eminent visitor: US-based Pakistani surgeon shares new techniques
Demonstrates surgical methods to treat artery blockage, avoid amputations.
LAHORE:
“I have been demonstrating new surgical techniques to doctors in Lahore to treat peripheral artery blockages,” said Dr Ather Ansari, a medical director at the California Heart and Vascular clinic in El Centro, California, who was in Lahore for a two-week visit.
Talking to The Express Tribune, he said that during his stay, he visited several hospitals and demonstrated the techniques which could effectively treat artery blockages, preventing amputation of body parts. He said the surgeries required expensive equipment (costing up to USD 100,000).
He said the most common practice in dealing with these cases was to cut off body parts or to do a bypass.
The visit was organised jointly by the Civil Millitary Hospital and the alumni of the King Edward Medical University. Dr Ansari specialises in coronary and peripheral angioplasties, nuclear imaging and echocardiography of all areas of the heart. He said the procedures were not very complicated and could easily be learnt by Pakistani cardiologists.
“Most of the patients I have examined in Pakistan were young or middle-aged who were faced with a risk of losing a leg or an arm,” Dr Ansari said. He added that heart diseases and diabetes were so widespread nowadays that educating people about preventive measures was very important.
Before coming to Pakistan, he said, he contacted several hospitals and asked them about the artery blockage cases. He said he was told that these cases were not common in Pakistan. On arrival, he said, when he visited some of the leading hospitals he was shocked to see the number of such cases. He said these being ignored because mostly the doctors were too overburdened treatment of other fatal diseases.
He said doctors in Pakistan were capable of learning new techniques and upgrading skills, adding that their workload was stopping them from doing so.
Dr Tariq Hassan of the CMH said the focus of specialisations in Pakistan was heart vessel surgeries. He said that there was a relatively lower emphasis on peripheral interventions.
Dr Hassan said that because peripheral artery blockages were not fatal, hospitals, which were overburdened with heart surgeries, did not prioritise treatment of artery blockage in other parts of the body. Besides, he said, the equipment required for the treatment was very expensive.
During his visit, Dr Ansari also addressed the gathering at the King Edward Medical College’s 150th anniversary celebrations this weak.
Diabetic woman gets to keep her leg
One of the cases he took during the stay was a 42-year-old woman, a diabetic, who had developed an artery blockage in her right leg and was declined treatment by the Mayo Hospital. “The doctors suggested that the only way out was to amputate the leg,” her husband, a rickshaw driver, told The Express Tribune.
Dr Ansari and a few other men funded the treatment of the woman. One of these men, who wished to stay anonymous, said it was lamentable that there was a treatment available but people couldn’t afford it and end up losing their legs or arms. He said the government should realise that people could only be expected to contribute positively towards the country’s development if they were leading healthy lives.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2011.
“I have been demonstrating new surgical techniques to doctors in Lahore to treat peripheral artery blockages,” said Dr Ather Ansari, a medical director at the California Heart and Vascular clinic in El Centro, California, who was in Lahore for a two-week visit.
Talking to The Express Tribune, he said that during his stay, he visited several hospitals and demonstrated the techniques which could effectively treat artery blockages, preventing amputation of body parts. He said the surgeries required expensive equipment (costing up to USD 100,000).
He said the most common practice in dealing with these cases was to cut off body parts or to do a bypass.
The visit was organised jointly by the Civil Millitary Hospital and the alumni of the King Edward Medical University. Dr Ansari specialises in coronary and peripheral angioplasties, nuclear imaging and echocardiography of all areas of the heart. He said the procedures were not very complicated and could easily be learnt by Pakistani cardiologists.
“Most of the patients I have examined in Pakistan were young or middle-aged who were faced with a risk of losing a leg or an arm,” Dr Ansari said. He added that heart diseases and diabetes were so widespread nowadays that educating people about preventive measures was very important.
Before coming to Pakistan, he said, he contacted several hospitals and asked them about the artery blockage cases. He said he was told that these cases were not common in Pakistan. On arrival, he said, when he visited some of the leading hospitals he was shocked to see the number of such cases. He said these being ignored because mostly the doctors were too overburdened treatment of other fatal diseases.
He said doctors in Pakistan were capable of learning new techniques and upgrading skills, adding that their workload was stopping them from doing so.
Dr Tariq Hassan of the CMH said the focus of specialisations in Pakistan was heart vessel surgeries. He said that there was a relatively lower emphasis on peripheral interventions.
Dr Hassan said that because peripheral artery blockages were not fatal, hospitals, which were overburdened with heart surgeries, did not prioritise treatment of artery blockage in other parts of the body. Besides, he said, the equipment required for the treatment was very expensive.
During his visit, Dr Ansari also addressed the gathering at the King Edward Medical College’s 150th anniversary celebrations this weak.
Diabetic woman gets to keep her leg
One of the cases he took during the stay was a 42-year-old woman, a diabetic, who had developed an artery blockage in her right leg and was declined treatment by the Mayo Hospital. “The doctors suggested that the only way out was to amputate the leg,” her husband, a rickshaw driver, told The Express Tribune.
Dr Ansari and a few other men funded the treatment of the woman. One of these men, who wished to stay anonymous, said it was lamentable that there was a treatment available but people couldn’t afford it and end up losing their legs or arms. He said the government should realise that people could only be expected to contribute positively towards the country’s development if they were leading healthy lives.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2011.