Gleneagles Has bi-Plane Angiogram
By Hadi DP Mahmud

Bandar Seri Begawan - CARDIAC centre Gleneagles JPMC has announced the availability of two new specialised medical procedures courtesy of its recently purchased bi-plane angiogram.

The bi-plane angiography system is a boost to the capability of the centre's catheterisation laboratory to pro - vide more specialised procedures, according to Dr Patrick Ang, director of invasive cardiac laboratory.

Those with electrical disorders of the heart will now be able to receive treatment at the centre through electrophysiological studies, which deal with electrical problems of the heart.

The equipment also allows the centre to treat patients with disorders relating to the blood vessel linking the lung artery and the aorta.

Electrical disorders of the heart, generally known as "Arrhythmias" or disorders of heartbeats can be treated through radio frequency catheter ablation, a procedure that uses electrodes to heat and destroy abnormal tissue.

These electrical problems of the heart are very common, although most are not dangerous, according to Dr Patrick. Among these is supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), a rapid rhythm of the heart.

'About 0.5 to 1 per cent of the population have very fast heartbeats, which may lead to sudden death in extreme cases. Patients of SVT may suffer from rapid rhythm of heartbeats for as short as five seconds to as long as a couple of hours," said Dr Nazar Luqman, a consultant cardiologist from Ripas.

"These procedures will be performed regularly in Brunei. This will save most of the patients with this problem and their relatives the need to travel abroad for the treatment, said Lee Cheow Seng, the centre's general manager.

Another procedure made available courtesy of the cardiac centre's new 'Philips Allura, Integris FD 10-10' bi-plane angiogram is the non-surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

The ductus arteriosus is a blood vessel communicating between the lung artery and the aorta. During the growth of the foetus in the mother's womb, the vessel serves to divert blood away from the lungs and into the rest of the body. After birth, this channel is obsolete and will be closed off and obliterated rather quickly. A patent (open) ductus arteriosus (PDA) occurs when the DA fails to completely close after birth.

PDA causes unnecessary shunting of blood and can result in a heart murmur, failure to grow, poor feeding, heart failure and lung congestion. Previously, large PDAs can only be closed by surgical open-chest method.

"This is where the bi-plane angiogram comes in handy. Babies are fragile and small, as compared to adults. Its multidimensional view enables doctors to pinpoint exactly where the hole is, so the nonsurgical closure of PDA can be executed. Constant positioning of the baby is also not required, as moving the baby too much may result in more errors," said Dr Patrick.

The PDA can be closed nonsurgically with the Amplatzer duct occluder for large PDAs or with metal coils for small PDAs. These procedures only require small punctures from the leg and the device can then be delivered to the PDA site by special catheters. There is no need for general anaesthesia and the patients can be discharged the next day, said Dr Nazar.

"Bruneian patients with PDA now can have them closed safely and quickly without having to resort to open chest surgery, which usually results in big unnecessary wounds," said Dr Patrick. GJPMC will be adding a paediatric branch to their services in the second or third quarter of this year, according to Patrick and Lee, who also hope that Borneo's population of roughly 16 million people will make use of the services provided by the centre. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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