A septuagenarian patient of Manipal Hospitals in Salt Lake, Kolkata, had intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) treatment in less than an hour. Simple stent implantation was made possible by the successful removal of calcium deposits from the patient’s coronary artery by Dr. Prof. P.S. Banerjee, Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Manipal Hospitals.

Mr. Ranjan Roy (name changed), a 72-year-old man, had a significant amount of calcium buildup inside his coronary artery. He also had neurological problems, hypertension, and cramps from arterial stenosis. IVL was carried out right away, and a stent was inserted into the artery due to the severity and the patient’s age. The next day, Mr. Roy was released from the hospital and is currently doing well.

Shock treatment, also known as IVL, is an ice-breaking technique used in the treatment of calcified arteries, which are common in the elderly population. The process has no major side effects and facilitates the easy placement of stents. Additionally, it lessens the possibility of the stented artery developing a later arterial obstruction or restenosis.

Elderly people often have calcium buildup in the coronary artery, which supplies blood to the heart. Because it makes using the traditional angioplasty approach problematic, Dr. Banerjee decided to adopt IVL treatment. As part of this therapy, a balloon is inserted into the coronary artery using a wire. The balloon is inflated by the portable equipment’s delivery of heat. The deposit of calcium is broken down by the heat, allowing a stent to be inserted. At a set temperature, a single balloon can provide shock treatment eight times. If there is little calcium deposit, one or two shocks are required. There were four times that the shock was required for Mr. Roy.

With this technique, more elderly people can lead healthy lives.

Priyanka Dutta