The 2nd Indo-Japanese Chronic Total Occlusion (IJCTO) workshop hosted by Apollo hospitals in Hyderabad from 6 to 8th June 2014 has demonstrated revolutionary techniques and advanced medical procedures for treating Chronic Total Occlusions (CTO) without surgery.

The 3-day live workshop was held at Hyderabad international convention centre (HICC) where doctors and cardiac specialists from across India and overseas took part in the workshop in a big way. The workshop demonstrated 12 live cases of complex CTO procedures being transmitted from various centres across India and abroad.

This second edition of IJCTO focussed on several new and fine tuned techniques. One of the advanced techniques for treating CTOs is creating a channel in the blocked artery and stenting with drug coated stents.  However, the latest and most sophisticated interventional technique invented by the Japanese to treat CTO is ‘Retrograde approach.’ Retrograde approach involves piercing the block from the bottom of the artery with micro instruments -specially designed wires, balloons and catheters; and deploying bio absorbable scaffold. In this procedure micro instruments pass through the micro channels and clean the block, while the entire procedure is monitored through IVUS (Intravascular Ultrasound) for perfection. The patient will not have any scar or suture in this technique. Retrograde approach requires high dexterity on the part of the cardiologist and involves specialised hardware. The success rate of retrograde approach is more than 90 per cent.

CTOs are hard and tough to dissolve heart blocks which completely close the artery space and have been existing for several months or years. This was disclosed by Cardiac team lead by Dr. V. Surya Prakasa Rao Head of Cardiology department from Hyderguda branch of Apollo Hospitals. Other doctors in the team included Dr. P.L.N.Kapardhi Director of Cathlab Services, Dr. Narayana Rao, Senior Consultant Cardiologist and Dr. Venkat Reddy, Cardiothoracic Surgeon.

"India has consistently led game-changing developments in healthcare. With the advancement of modern technology, the quality of medical care that India provides and the values that India supports draw a parallel with any other leading country in the West. I hope the techniques discussed in this workshop encourage people in India to consider angioplasty as a viable alternative to surgery. I look forward to participating in similar collaborative efforts organised by Apollo Hospitals" says Dr. V Surya Prakasa Rao.

World renowned CTO experts from Japan and Europe like Dr. Kinzo Ueda, Dr. Etsuo Tsuchikane, Dr. Masahisa Yamane, Dr. Yasushi Asakura, Dr. Toshiya Muramatsu, Dr. Kenya Nasu, Dr. Yuji Hamazaki, Dr. Georgios Sianos & Dr. Imad Sheiban, shared their expertise along with their Indian counterparts.