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PGI doctors install stents in 103-year-old man in Chandigarh
Two stents were installed in a 103-year-old heart patient at the Advanced Cardiac Centre of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER)
Two stents were installed in a 103-year-old heart patient at the Advanced Cardiac Centre of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) this week.
As per the institute’s official statement, the patient was the oldest to have undergone the procedure in the history of the institute.
Assistant professor Dr Himanshu Gupta who performed the angioplasty said the patient was admitted after he complained of acute chest pain.
“We diagnosed two critical blockages in the patient’s cardiac blood vessels. Angioplasty at an advanced age is a high risk procedure because the blockages become extremely hard with age and the blood vessels of patients become friable. Moreover, at such an age patients have some degree of renal dysfunction and hence the procedure has to be performed with extreme care,” said Gupta.
“The angioplasty was successful and stents were installed in both his blockages in the same sitting. The patient was discharged after two days,” the official statement said.
The procedure was supervised by department of cardiology head professor Yash Paul Sharma. “It is a rare feat for the department and the cardiology fraternity on the whole. It is a matter of pride that our department is equipped to handle such complex cases,” he said.
Dr Gupta said the complaints and problems of the elderly should not be ignored as with appropriate expertise and technology they can be successfully treated.
