Times of India
30 August 2010
Mumbai, India

A cardiac patient now has the option to immediately undergo a surgery if his angiography shows that he requires it. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, on Sunday, inaugurated the first hybrid cath lab of the city at Holy Family Hospital in Bandra where it will be possible to undergo many combinations of cardiac procedures under the same roof.

Dr Brian Pinto, head of cardiology at the hospital said, "The cath lab enables real–time diagnosis, interventional procedures and open surgery. If an artery is suddenly ruptured during a small procedure, a patient who would earlier be moved to an operation theatre, can now undergo a corrective procedure in the same room."

The lab can be used for planned surgeries too. Dr Pinto added there are many hybrid combination procedures that can be performed in this cath lab.

According to cardiologists, minimally invasive surgeries, coupled with the hybrid cath lab, may reduce the recovery time of certain procedures to two days from a week.