May 17, 2006 Corindus Presenting the CorPath New Generation System
Corindus to Present CorPathTM New Generation System at Paris Course on Revascularization in the Innovative and Emerging Technologies Session, May 16-19, 2006, Paris, France

30th Sep 2006 – Hiranandani Hospital -Workshop on complex coronary interventions

A workshop on Complex coronary interventions was conducted on the 30th Sept, 2006 at Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, Powai. Dr Marc Silvestri from France, one of the world authority in complex coronary intervention (having one of the largest series of performing Left Main Coronary Interventions in the World) was along with our interventional cardiologists Dr Ganesh Kumar and Dr Jairam Aithal performed angioplasties on 9 complex cases in one day. These involved 4 chronic total occlusions (CTOs), 2 complex bifurcation lesions, amongst other cases. Most were multivessel cases. A total of 22 stents were implanted and all lesions were treated successfully. There were no procedure related complications, most patients were discharged within 24 hours of procedure. Dr Silvestri and Dr Ganesh Kumar jointly addressed the press later on present issues and controversies surrounding the drug-eluting stents.

Concept, design and pre-clinical studies for remote control percutaneous coronary                                                   interventions

Stents have revolutionised the procedure of coronary angioplasty and the technology over the years has witnessed a series of development, reports Sonal Shukla

Dr Ganesh Kumar believes that there is no controversy regarding DES

The recent ‘Clinical Outcomes Utilizing Revascularization and Aggressive Drug Evaluation’ (Courage) Study presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting in New Orleans found that angioplasty works no better than medication at preventing heart attacks or death.
The new study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that patients with partially obstructed arteries can put off angioplasty or skip surgery altogether. Half of the 2,300 patients studied underwent angioplasty and took heart drugs, and were told to make lifestyle changes, such as exercising, losing weight, and giving up smoking. The other half received only lifestyle counseling and medication, including drugs to lower cholesterol, relax blood vessels, slow heart rate, and prevent blood clots. Both groups fared equally well after an average of 4 1/2 years, according to the study.
In wake of the above study, it is important to understand the evolution of stents. The use of angioplasty to open clogged arteries has taken off since the mid-1990s, increasing from about 430,000 procedures in 1995 to nearly 1.3 million in 2004.
Initially, stents were needed in order to prevent acute complication after Plain Old Balloon Angioplasty (POBA) e.g acute occlusion of the coronary artery after POBA. Originally, they were used only as a scaffold to prevent acute complications and to maintain the lumen of the dilated segment of the coronary artery. However, follow-up of patients showed that a patient who had received stent faced reduced chances of restenosis as compared to those who did not.
“The biggest problem with balloon angioplasty and coronary stenting is restenosis. After the coronary intervention, the patient might need to come back for another re-intervention within six months. With the usage of stents, restenosis rate was reduced to approximately 12-25 per cent as compared to 50-65 per cent without it,” states Dr Uday Khanolkar, Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Victor Hospital, Goa. From here, onwards, intensive research in stents took over.
 Regular use of stents has also simplified angioplasty as it reduced immediate complications. Simultaneously, anti-clotting (antiplatelet) drugs were developed which reduced the early thrombosis of the stent.
“Once the stents started showing long-term results, more refinement started in stent technology with sleeker and malleable stents (which could pass even in difficult anatomies and torturous vessels). Moreover, people started using stents in almost all balloon angioplasties as the results were better,” explains Dr Ganesh Kumar, Interventional Cardiologist, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai. With the revolution in the stenting technology, stents today have moved from Bare Metal Stents (BMS) to Drug Eluting Stents (DES). Today, the world of medicine is all gung ho about soon to be reality Biodegradable Stents.
According to analysts, the Indian market uses 80,000 stents annually and is likely to grow at 15 per cent over the next two-three years. Lifestyle related diseases like diabetes and stress would be the key growth drivers.  With only 20 per cent of patients coming for regular health checkups, a huge market remains still untapped.